After Ultron
by Smiles1998
Summary: Loki knew he shouldn't have given himself away. He had escaped to Midgard and was hidden from Heimdall's gaze. But, instead, he just had to save that one girl with the bright blue eyes. Also, when a new evil arises to destroy all SHIELD has worked to regain, it's up to Darcy Lewis and Wanda Maximoff to stop him...
1. Prolouge

**People responded to the trailer fic, so here it is; After Ultron.**

 **Also, I** _ **did**_ **see Age of Ultron, but that was at the beginning of the month. So if I mess stuff up, I couldn't find a transcript or anything… Well, a full one anyway. So, excuse me on that part. (Also, spoilers… Obviously).**

 **Disclaimer: From this point out I only own the OC's. Not the actors I think would portray them, or any actors in this story what so ever. I also don't own Marvel or Disney… Which sucks.**

 _.::. .::. .::._

Loki stood in the observatory, looking down at the expanding universe. His eyes wandered from one world to the next, sometimes lingering in some realms before moving on. Next to him, Heimdall stood. Ever watchful of the nine realms.

As there were perks to impersonating Odin, there were certain drawbacks as well. One of them was that in reference to Thor, many had called him _'his son'_. Loki wasn't sure what was worse; people referring to Thor as 'his brother' or 'his son'. Oh, how he loathed it.

Next to him, Heimdall quirked a brow.

"Something wrong, Heimdall?" He asked.

"Look to Midgard, my king." Ah, yes. There were the perks. "It seems as if the Avengers have found something."

Though he was not eager to glance upon his not-brother and his mortal friends, curiosity killed the cat and he cast his gaze down there. His eyebrow soon raised as well.

Near what looked like a fortress, in the surrounding wood, were the Avengers. He saw the Captain riding an odd vehicle—he remembered seeing some during his attack, but hadn't the foggiest idea on what they were called. _Hogs? Choppers? Autocycles?_ —and Thor not too far behind, flying through the air with Mjölnir in his hand. He saw him land on a watch tower, and watched him punch whatever men were unfortunate enough to be there.

Over the past two years, he had kept careful watch over his not-brother, lest he return to Asgard, suddenly wanting the throne. He saw him and the Captain especially deal with a group known as HYDRA, a basic enemy to S.H.I.E.L.D… Or whatever was left of it apparently. Loki did not miss how much effort the "heroes" were putting into storming the base. _What could be there that is so important to them?_

"Shit!" the Iron Man said, snapping him out of his thoughts. He heard the Captain call out "Language!" soon after.

Loki wasn't sure what was so amusing about it, but he saw Heimdall smile slightly nonetheless. It was what came next that made Loki a bit concerned.

"Oh,"

"Oh?" He questioned.

"I believe I now understand why the Avengers fight so hard in this battle."

"What it is?"

"In the facility, my king."

So, Loki trailed his gaze over to the facility—glimpsing at the Iron Man as he flew around the base. "Is no one going to comment that Cap just said 'language'?" he asked, receiving a meek "I know!" in response—and found someone who seemed to be rather stressed about the whole ordeal.

Not that he could blame him…

"Can we hold them back?" He asked a guard.

The guard looked at him, incredulous. "They're the Avengers!"

The first man left the room, eventually running into Captain America—whom just knocked him out. He turns back in time to watch Iron Man shooting some men with a few missiles. "Good talk." He says.

"Not really…" One of the men on the ground says.

Iron Man then turned to a hallway.

" _There should be an entrance not too far from you."_ Loki hears a female voice say to Stark. Loki blinks and searches the area around Stark, the voice did not sound like the Spider's and she is nowhere in sight.

Stark removes his helmet and Loki is able to glance at an ear-piece as the man glances around at a bare wall. "I'm not seeing one, Darcy."

" _My computer says there is one."_ The female voice says again. _"Then again, my information isn't reliable… Might as well just keep looking, dude."_

Darcy… Darcy. The name sounds familiar, from where he's not sure.

Stark glances around. "Five bucks says there's a secret door."

" _Dude, you're on."_

"Please be a secret door, please be a secret door, please be a secret door…" Stark pushes in one of the bricks, revealing a secret door. "Yay!"

" _Dammit. There goes my morning coffee…"_ He can all but here the smile in this Darcy's voice. Stark chuckles. "Don't make bets you can't win, Lewis."

 _Lewis._ He thinks. _Darcy Lewis_. The assistant to Thor's woman. Small and all but useless, it was easy for him to overlook her. Why is she communicating with Stark now?

Loki watched as Stark descendant further into the HYDRA base, watched as he was followed by a young girl, watched with revelation as Stark came upon his old scepter and the remnants of the Chitauri warriors, and watched with slight interest as the girl seemed to put Stark in a sort of trance.

He couldn't tell what Stark was seeing, but judging by his facial expression, it wasn't good. Soon, in a blur, a blonde man—who bared similar appearance to the girl—appeared behind her at a speed Loki thought was impossible for Midgardians. The blonde looked at the girl, "Are you just going to let him get away?" He asked in a heavily accented voice. The girl only smiled.

Stark then smirked, summoned an Iron Hand, and marched right up to his old scepter and lifted it off its table.

Heimdall frowned. "For that man's sake, I hope Thor is quick in his return to Asgard with the scepter."

"As do I," Loki lied right through his teeth, not that it was hard for him. "Other forces would seek to gain such a powerful weapon."

He left, nodding his head to Heimdall in response. His thoughts drifted to the Mad Titan and he frowned. Though he held no fond feelings for Stark, Thor, or any of the Avengers; he hoped for their sake that they knew what they were doing.

 _.::. .::. .::._

Loki returned to the Bifrost, this time as a mere guard, and found Heimdall was absent. _No doubt at the pub,_ Loki thought dryly.

Remembering what the Avengers found at the HYDRA base, Loki decides to glance down on Midgard. He glances down just in time to see the Spider turn to his not-brother.

"Thor, report on the Hulk." She says.

"The gates of Hel are filled with the screams of his victims!" Thor responded. It was only when the Spider glared at the Thunder God and Banner groaned did Loki roll his eyes.

"But not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no… wounded screams… mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and… gout." Thor finished dumbly.

" _Just stop, Thor. You're giving me second-hand-shame."_ The voice of Darcy Lewis said, Loki found himself nodding in agreement with the voice.

The Avengers, minus a rather beaten looking Barton (though he just raised a brow), glanced at the pilot control's in mild surprise. "How do you keep doing this, kid?" Stark asked, annoyance clear as he jabbed at a few random buttons rather roughly. "I set up a new firewall!"

" _And I got_ through _you're new fire wall!"_ Amusement clear in the girl's voice. _"You're losing your touch, Stark. I blame old age."_

This earned a snigger from Banner and the Captain, smirks from the assassins, and a well-meaning eye roll and smile from Thor as Tony looked at the panel, appalled.

"One more remark like that, and you can say good-bye to your paid vacation time." Stark threatened lightly.

" _I don't get paid vacation time!"_

"You don't? She doesn't?" Stark turned to Thor, who nodded. "Oh… Well, doesn't that just suck." Stark smirked as the quinjet they were flying landed on the tower he recognized as Stark Tower. Though, Loki supposed, it wasn't called that anymore.

After they landed, Loki noticed Agent Hill approaching the opening quinjet.

"All set up, boss." She said.

"Actually, he's the boss." Stark said, pointing to the Captain. "I just pay for everything and design everything, and make everyone look cooler."

"Careful there, Tony, your modesty is showing!" Darcy Lewis's voice calls out as she jogs toward the quinjet, a tablet in hand.

Ah yes, he remembers her a bit more clearly now. The small, dark-haired assistant to one Jane Foster. The one girl that hovered around her, Thor, and Selvig and the one who never seemed capable of closing her mouth.

"Is it?" Stark makes a show of pretending to cover up. "I'm so _embarrassed_ …" Earning a laugh from Darcy.

"Ah, Lady Darcy!" Thor booms. "Fairest maiden in all of Midgard."

"Don't' let Jane hear you say that…" Darcy teases as Thor crushes her in a one-armed hug. Once released, she rubs her chest. "Easy there, Rolling Thunder. I like my ribs non-broken." Thor laughs fondly at his friend.

Darcy then turns to Agent Hill and hands her the tablet. "I found some information on the Wonder Twins, you might want to check it out."

Agent Hill nodded her thanks and beckoned for Captain America to follow her as Barton was escorted out of the quinjet by the Spider. Which didn't go unnoticed by the young girl. "Clint, you're bleeding." The calm, casual way she said almost made Loki blink. "Plus you have a hole in your stomach-area. Just letting you know."

Clint glanced at Darcy and gave her an odd look. "Where would we be without your guidance, Lewis?"

Darcy shrugged her shoulders, turning back to the quinjet. "Without your morning coffees." This gained small smiles from the two assassins as they left and a few laughs from Stark and Banner.

Darcy looked over Thor's shoulders and smiled. "Hey cool, you guys found the Glow-stick of Doom!" Darcy entered the quinjet and inspected the staff up close. Loki noticed that she frowned as she inspected the jewel in the scepter. "What up with the glowing jewel-thingy? This wouldn't happen to be another Tesseract or Aether, would it?"

Loki raises a brow at her. Though a bit uneducated in her guess, she's not entirely far from the truth.

Thor nodded. "You remember what we told you of the scepter's power, do you not?"

"I remember some parts." Darcy admitted. "To be honest, when you or Jane or Selvig went on some rant about Asgard or the Rainbow Bridge or the Convergence; I kinda just blocked you guys out and imagined I was in Rio or someplace…"

Tony chuckles as he begins to move the scepter. "I knew there was a reason I liked you, even if you are a pain in my programs ass."

"Tony, language!" Darcy chided. "Steve could be nearby."

Banner shook his head and chuckled. "How do you put up with her?"

Thor merely shrugged. "You get used to her after a while."

"I heard that!" Darcy called back as she followed Stark into a certain lab.

Loki was about to leave when he noticed Stark's eyes linger on the gem. The God of Mischief frowned.

Stark set the scepter in a little container and then turned to Thor. "You wouldn't mind if I ran a few tests on this, would ya? Just to check its gamma reading, y'know."

Loki didn't miss how Darcy Lewis, who was fiddling with a computer, seemed to freeze at Stark's words and looked at her boss, listening intently.

Thor contemplated Stark's question for a moment before responding, "I suppose it would do no harm. I will have no need for it for three more days."

Stark smiled at his friend. "Fantastic! Shouldn't take too long, I promise."

Thor began to leave when he seemed to remember Darcy's presence in the lab. "Darcy, you shall stay?"

Darcy glanced between Stark and Thor briefly before sending the Thunder God a tight-lipped smiles. "I'll catch up with you in a second, big guy." Thor smiles at her before exiting. Stark turns back to the scepter just as Darcy stepped behind him.

Stark noticed her and sent the girl an impish smile. "Yes?"

"Why do you need to run test on the glow-stick of doom?" She asked.

"First off; it's glow stick of _destiny_ , we all agreed to that." Darcy rolls her eyes at her boss. "Second; I just want to make sure it poses no gamma threat to Banner or anyone else."

Darcy snorts. "Bull-fucking-shit, Stark. Since when do you care about Banner, or people in general?"

"Hey, I care about people."

"People whose names aren't Tony and Stark, I mean."

Stark glances around to make sure no one but him and Darcy are present in the lab before turning back to Darcy. "What did I hire you to do here exactly?"

"A computer programmer."

"More specifically."

Darcy sighs. "A computer programmer-slash-you're personal protégé-slash-the Avengers' assistant-slash-your guys' personal helper monkey." Loki did in fact blink this time at the all of the girl's titles. _Personal helper monkey?_

"Right. And you're a pretty good programmer, right?"

"Were you not on the jet when I broke through one of your firewalls, y'know again?"

Stark frowned at the girl but nodded nonetheless. "Honestly, besides myself of course, you're the best programmer I know."

"Ok, what're you getting at?"

"A while ago, I had this idea of one specific A.I. leading the Iron Legion. But I never had the energy to create it, so it was all but scrapped. But now…" Darcy glanced at the scepter.

"But now you think you do." Loki didn't miss the uncertainty in the girl's voice.

"You saw what Loki was able to do with that thing," Stark pointed out.

"Yeah, I saw the footage." Darcy nodded, taking a seat on the nearby counter, next to the scepter. "I saw footage of people running around screaming, freaky aliens flying this way and that, and I saw footage of Reindeer Face standing—or flying—in the middle of it all. Guns a blazing with the Glow-stick of doom in his hands." Though he frowned at being called 'Reindeer Face' Loki found himself following this usually Odd girl's train of thought. "I also saw what Loki was able to do to Barton."

Stark winced at the memory. "Loki did all of that, this thing had nothing to do with all of that—"

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely." Darcy stated. "My mom and dad used to tell me that and I couldn't think of a better example." Loki noticed a brief shadow that crossed Darcy's face at the mention of her parents. Stark looked at Darcy, what he could almost define as a small amount of pity written on his face. Darcy looked away. "What do I have to do with all of this?"

"Like I said, you're one of the best programmers I know. I couldn't think of anyone better to help me." Stark said.

"You'd get farther with Banner helping you."

"Oh, he'll be helping us to."

"Does he know that?"

"He will. Once I run it by him." Stark paused a moment. "Does this mean…?"

Darcy glanced at him, sighed and let out a dry chuckle as she shrugged. "Hey, my personal motto is 'Hakuna Matata' so why the fuck not?"

Stark nodded and smiled genuinely at the young girl. "You won't regret it kid. I promise!" Stark waltzed over to a nearby desk, pulled out a tablet of sorts from a drawer and handed it to Darcy.

"You'll find everything you need to know about the program on there. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find our resident Hulk."

"Make smart choices!" Darcy called out as Stark left.

Loki watched the young mortal start up the tablet. He watched as she kicked her legs in a childish, bored manner as she tapped the screen of her new little toy. He watched her face contort into one of uncertainty after a few more taps as she glanced at the screen.

"The Ultron Program…" She said, casting a sideways glance at his old scepter.


	2. 1: Ultron

**Could not, for the life of me, find any dialogue for the first scene. Grrr! So, if this is completely off from what actually happened in the movie, I'm sorry. Maybe when the actual movie comes out on DVD I'll go back and change it. But for now, enjoy what I hope is accurate.**

 **Also, I'll be on vacation with my cousins next week, so might not be updating for a few days. Hope this holds you over.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but OC's… who haven't shown up yet… So, there's your answer.**

 _.::. .::. .::._

Though not entirely sure why, Loki had watched Darcy Lewis, Stark, and (surprisingly) Dr. Banner begin work on the program known as Ultron from the Bifrost. Sometimes as Odin, other times as an unassuming guard. The God of lies didn't miss that Darcy's unease at the situation never fully left her. Always casting an uneasy glance at his old scepter whenever Stark and Banner were not looking.

For three days, this went on. Loki observed that though rushed, the three seemed to know what they were doing—granted Stark accidentally caused a certain piece of his lab equipment to explode and Darcy ended up falling asleep on the floor, causing Banner to nearly trip and crush the girl.

After three days, the three seemed utterly exhausted and about to collapse when Stark said "Well would you look at that."

Darcy Lewis glanced up at her boss. "Look at what?"

"On the computer." Stark pointed with his pen.

Darcy and Banner both leaned close to inspect the screen, both smiled slightly at what they saw. "Is that it? That Ultron?" Banner asked.

"Indeed it is my exhausted friend and helper-monkey." Stark said.

"Thanks, Tony." Darcy replied dryly.

"You're welcome," Stark replied without skipping a beat, "Now all we need to do is finish it."

"How are we going to finish it?" Banner asked.

"We won't." Stark replied. Darcy and Banner exchanged confused looks before Stark pulled out a phone and tapped it. "J.A.R.V.I.S., I think you know what to do."

" _I'll get right on it, sir."_ The A.I. replied.

Loki saw Darcy crack a tired, yet large smile. "Thanks, J.A.R.V.I.S. You're a pal!"

" _You're quite welcome, Miss Lewis."_

Banner bid them all a goodbye, saying he'd see them later at the party. Loki noticed Stark was about to leave, but stopped once he realized Darcy was observing the A.I.'s progress in constructing this _Ultron_.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Stark asked.

"Are you absolutely sure that Ultron is a good idea?" Darcy asked.

Stark stared at her wide-eyed for a minute before regaining his composure. "Worst penny I ever spent."

 _The man has a slight sense of humor,_ Loki supposed.

"You still doubt my idea?" Stark asked.

"I've worked for you for the past two and a half years, it's only natural I have some doubt." Darcy shrugged casually.

"That hurts, kid. Really does."

"Should've worn the suit."

Stark smirked a bit at that. "Guess so. What are you doubting exactly?"

"I just don't get why we needed to use the scepter as a powerhouse for all this."

"For starters, we didn't use the scepter we used the glowing gem inside it—"

"Well pin a rose on your nose." Darcy interrupted. The phrase made Loki raise a brow.

"Secondly, there's nothing else as powerful."

"You built an _arc reactor_! Couldn't you have just thrown one of those together and _Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo_ there's the power source?"

"I could've, but it wouldn't have been finished by the time I needed it."

Even that made Loki pause for a moment. Though he loathe to admit it, Darcy was not entirely incorrect in her assumption that the scepter was a potentially bad source of power. Stark, for however many faults there were in him (mind you there were plenty), usually had the capability to tell what plan of action was needed for certain times.

"Time you needed it?" Darcy questioned. "Needed it for what, exactly?"

Stark glanced uncomfortably down at the assembling of Ultron. His eyes pointedly ignoring Darcy's.

"Tony… In Sovokia, you… froze up before you took the scepter. What happened?"

Stark sighed. "Nothing you need to worry about, kay junior?"

"Considering that I just helped build something I wasn't completely keen on from the get-go, I think I should be kinda worried." Darcy reasoned.

"Look, Ultron is a peace-keeping-A.I., right?" Stark asked, slinging an arm around Darcy's shoulders and leading her away from the assembly.

"Yeah…"

"So, all Ultron is going to have to do is help protect the world when we can't."

"But you're an Avenger. You guys always protect the world. You saved New York," Loki grimaced at the mention of his failed attack, "You just gave HYDRA a run for their money… You guys ae heroes… You keep peace."

"But not for long." Stark pointed out. Loki nodded at this. After Thor left for Midgard, Loki seemed to notice how each of the Avengers—excluding Barton, for whatever odd reason Loki could not figure out—seemed to deal with their own set of dangers before reassembling. "With Ultron, will have peace."

"Peace in our time," Darcy smiled wistfully.

"Imagine that." Stark smiled with her, pulling her into a sort of one-armed hug.

" _I shall contact you when we have reached an interface, sir."_ The A.I. sounded off. _"For now, you two have a party to attend."_

 _.::. .::. .::._

This time, as Odin, Loki made his way back to the Bifrost a few hours later.

"Heimdall, my friend!" The gatekeeper smiled at his "king"

"My king," he nodded.

"I have grown curious, what has the one known as Tony Stark done with the specter's power?"

"He seems to have used it on a peace-keeping robot of sorts, my king. He calls it Ultron."

"The machine now has the power of the scepter?"

"Yes and no. The machine was powered _by_ the scepter, but he does not control it. Although, he does seem to have a bit of control over Tony Stark's Iron Army."

Loki nodded, his question answered as of far. He was about to exit the Bifrost when Heimdall hummed thoughtfully. "Something troubling you?"

"It would appear that this Ultron has more power than I had previously thought."

Confused, the God stepped up to Heimdall's place and cast his gaze down to Midgard. After a second of searching, he found what he was searching for. Where Darcy and Stark had been standing a few hours ago, there was no one. The lab was eerily quiet, Loki had at least thought Stark's A.I. would be running something.

Then he saw it. Under the half-finished creation known as Ultron, Loki saw a few Iron Army men being activated.

One quick glance around the lab told Loki there was no Avengers or Darcy around to authorize such an order. He glanced at the creation. _Ultron is not complete,_ Loki thought, _It couldn't be doing this… Could it?_

Deciding to glance around Avengers Tower to see if any of the Avengers knew what was going on, Loki shifted his gaze slightly and found none other than his not-brother escorting Darcy Lewis into what appeared to be a rather lavish ballroom and bar.

"Whoa, sweet digs." Darcy smiled in appreciation.

Loki took note that Thor was wearing mortal clothing, the dressier kind by the looks of it, and the Lady Darcy was dressed in a bit more… dressy than she normally would.

Thor nodded in agreement. "I would expect nonetheless from Tony. He does seem to have a flare for the more refined tastes in life…"

Darcy picked up a bottle of wine from behind the bar and looked at the Thunder God, incredulous. " _Seem to have_? Thor, I will be all the money in my bank account that Tony came into this world smoking a cigar and wearing designer sunglasses."

"How much money would that be exactly?" Barton asked, approaching the two with the Captain and a Dr. Helen Cho following behind. Loki had observed how Cho's new invention The Cradle seemed to heal Clint from a wound that would take much longer for Midgardian standards.

"Negative one hundred dollars."

"How do you have _negatives_ … In your _bank_ _account_?" Helen Cho asked.

"Call it a gift." Darcy shrugged, earning a laugh from the four around her. Darcy glanced around, taking in all the guests. "Ok, there's a lot of people in suits here speaking all fancy and stuff, so I've got to ask; Is Darcy in trouble because Darcy don't do fancy anything?"

Barton chuckled and rested a hand on Darcy's shoulder. "You'll be fine, kid. Just go out there and have fun. Word of the wise, don't drink anyone under the table. Last New Year was fun and all, but we've got some big egos out here and we don't need them getting damaged."

"Darcy!" Stark's voice called from a nearby stairwell.

"Speaking of big egos…" Darcy trailed off with a smirk.

"Well, doesn't everyone look nice," Stark glanced at Thor as he approached the group. "Y'know, it's sort of an improvement to see you sans Asgard-armor."

"You may thank Lady Darcy for that. She told me it was more appropriate to wear this attire to a gathering such as this." Thor explained.

"Still working on Basic English though," Darcy cracked with a good natured pat to Thor's chest. Laughter rippled throughout the group.

"By the by, looking sharp, Betty Boop." Stark nodded at Darcy.

The girl set the bottle of wine down and played to the compliment by overdoing a typical pose from the iconic cartoon character. Lifting a foot clad in strappy black stiletto behind her and blinking innocently at the billionaire and giggling nasally "Boop-boop-be-doop- _boo_!"

"Ah, finally. A reference I understand!" The Captain said happily.

After the laughter subsided, Darcy turned to Stark. "So, boss man, do I get to crack open a bottle of wine or is that something that will come out of my not-enough-for-a-bank-account-even-though-I-work-for-a-biilionae-paycheck?"

Loki watched the party go on for a few hours. If it weren't for the hints of curiosity and apprehension in Heimdall's eyes, he would've left hours ago. Though, he supposed there were worse ways to spend an evening… Admittedly, none came to mind but he was sure there were worse.

"So I grabbed the tank, flew it over and dropped it on the palace steps and was like, 'Boom. There's your tank, general'." The one known as War Machine told Thor, Stark, and Darcy.

The two men smiled but seemed as though they were expecting more from the story, Darcy however giggled a bit at the story. The War Machine looked at the three. "You're kidding, that usually _kills_ at parties."

"Well… It was a god story, but we're used to a little bit more…" Stark explained, to which Thor nodded.

"Seriously?" Thor and Stark only nodded.

"I thought it was funny." Darcy told the man, smiling.

" _Thank you_ , Darcy." War Machine smiled in appreciation. "At least somebody likes my humor."

"Is that somebody me?" The girl twirled her hair just a bit. Loki frowned at the girl, was this some type of Midgardian courtship, for he had seen her pull that exact same trick on some fellow in the city called London once or twice.

"I don't know, but could you be any cuter?" The War Machine smiled.

Darcy giggled, "Totally know the answer to that question, but I do have a boyfriend."

"Why is it always the pretty ones that already got there beaus?" The machine asked, smiling slightly.

"Speaking of, where is the unlucky bastard?" Stark smirked teasingly.

"Number one; what the hell? And number two; Ian's helping Jane with all her Nobel-prize-and-science-stuff since I'm no longer her intern." Darcy explained.

"He did wish to join us, but it seems his schooling and his assisting of Jane has him a bit overwhelmed. He does send his regards and all," Thor added.

The conversation grew far too boring for Loki to care to listen in any longer, so he scanned the room. He found the Captain talking with his comrade, the one known as The Falcon. He found Cho, Barton, and Hill all talking together and he saw Banner talking to the Spider at the bar, though it seemed to be a rather to intimate for a friendly chat.

The party was overall a bit dull in Loki's opinion, but he had to admit there were some highlights. One in particular was when an older Midgardian had drank a bit of Asgardian mead that Thor had smuggled into the party. He had to admit, Loki felt some pity for the poor fool. Thor had warned him that the drink was not for mortal men, but he didn't listen.

Half a drink later, he was being carried out. In his drunken daze, he mumbled "Excelsior…"

Such a strange man…

Once the party had winded down to where it was just the Avengers, Darcy, Cho, and Hill; Loki was certain he could leave now. That was until he heard Barton say "'Whoever, if he worthy, shall have the power…' Whatever, man, it's a trick." The archer gestured to Mjölnir, which rested on the table near Thor and Darcy.

"It is much more than that my friend." Thor said.

"It's a circus sideshow, and that is it, and you know it!" The archer argued.

"It is much more than that, my friend."

"It is, watch!" Darcy set down the bottle of beer she had been nursing and waltzed up to Mjölnir. Using whatever strength she possessed, tug on the hammer with all her might. Eventually, she tugged so had she stumbled back and would've fallen flat on her rear if not for Thor steadying her. "You see. Mew-Mew is too heavy for me, it only works for him."

"Well, hon, you have to admit that you're not exactly the strongest one here." Stark said.

Darcy shrugged, smoothing out the wrinkles in her black cocktail dress before she took a seat on the armrest of the couch Thor was at. "He's got me there."

"However, I sense a challenge in the air and I want to be the first _real_ competitor. No offence, Lewis."

"None taken."

"If I light it, do I get to rule Asgard?" Stark asked Thor.

"Yes, of course." Even Loki could see Thor confidence. The God of lies couldn't blame his not-brother, if there was anyone more unworthy than Stark, he didn't care to know.

"I will be reinstating Prima Nocta." Stark said, approaching the hammer.

"Of course you will…" Darcy took a sip of her beer.

So, Stark attempted to lift Mjölnir. He tugged at it with all his strength, the hammer didn't budge… obviously. "I'll be right back," Stark said thoughtfully. He returned moments later with an Iron Gauntlet. Turning it on, he once again tried to pull the hammer form the table, only to fail… Again.

Eventually, the War Machine donned one of his Iron Gauntlets and the two tried to pull Mjölnir from the table as a team. The War Machine glanced down at Thor's weapon in question. "Are we even pulling?"

"Are you on my team?' Stark asked.

"Just represent; _pull_!"

Eventually, the two had to let go and except defeat. Darcy laughed and told them "Ha-ha, you failed!" in a sing-song voice.

"Clint, you've had a tough week," Stark addressed the man, ignoring Darcy's snickering, "We won't hold it against you if you can't lift it."

As Clint stood up and made his way toward the hammer, Darcy smiled. "Speak for yourself. I'm holding this over _everyone's_ heads when this is over."

"Be nice, Darcy." Thor told his friend, smiling slightly.

"Nag, nag, nag…"

So it went, Clint had tried and failed to lift the hammer. Banner was next, and even though he couldn't lift it, he was a good sport about it. Beating his chest and imitating a roar in the way the monster would do (though this earned him no shortage of odd looks from his companions. Darcy was the one to remark "Dude, you need to get out more"). Then came that Captain. Surprisingly, he was able to shift Mjölnir's position slightly, much to his, Heimdall, Thor, and Darcy's surprise. Though, he too was unable to lift the hammer. Banner at one point offered the Spider to partake, but she smirked into his bottle of wine. "Oh no, that's not a question I need answered."

By now, everyone in the room was just a bit tipsy and laughter rang freely.

"I've got a simple theory. Like a security code… Whosoever carries Thor's fingerprints is, I think, the literal translation?" Stark asked.

"That is a very, very interesting theory. I have a simpler one." Thor then walked up to Mjölnir, picked it up—flipped it up, really—and caught it in his hand. "You're all not worthy."

Darcy started to shout 'Oh!' over the laughter from the group. However, the laughter died down when a loud screeching noise was heard not far from where the Avengers and company were seated. Next to him, Heimdall's eyes narrowed. Loki followed his gaze and soon found something rather… off.

"…worthy… No… How could you be worthy? You're all killers." Something that looked like a half-finished Iron army men limped/stumbled into the room. One of its arms hanging by mere wires at its side.

"Stark?" The Captain questioned.

"J.A.R.V.I.S.?" Stark pulled out his phone, never taking his eyes off the machine, much like everyone else in the room.

"What _is_ that thing?" He asked.

Heimdall frowned. "It looks familiar, but I cannot be sure."

"Sorry," The machine said, "I was asleep… Or… I was a dream…"

"Reboot, we got a buggy suit." Stark tapped at his phone multiple times.

"…There was a terrible noise… And I was tangled in… in… strings… I had to kill the other guy… He was a good guy." The machine said.

"You killed someone?" The Captain asked. Always the honorable one…

"Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world we're faced with some ugly choices."

"Who sent you?" Thor questioned, tightening his grip on Mjölnir.

" _I see a suit of armor around the world."_ The machine seemed to smirk as it allowed a recording of Stark's words play.

Darcy gasped as Banner's eyes widened in realization "Ultron!"

"In the flesh." Ultron smiled.

"Uh… _flesh_?" Darcy questioned, eyeing the machine.

"Well, no, not yet." Ultron admitted. "Not this… chrysalis… But I'm ready. I'm on a mission."

"What mission?" The Spider asked

"Peace in our time."

"Ok," Darcy started, uneasily. "That's what we want to. That's what you're designed to do…"

"Ah, yes. But there is only one sure path to peace… Your extinction."

Even Loki blinked at that. Ultron was a peace keeping program, from what he understood. Why would he want to destroy the ones who wanted peace themselves, much less his three creators?

"What do you mean?" Captain asked.

"You say you want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How can you protect something so fragile, so broken if you don't want to change it… And it doesn't change on its own, if it doesn't evolve on its own?"

"We humans have this thing called 'natural selection'. It got us this far." Darcy told the machine harshly.

"And I'm afraid that this is as far as you are going to get, Miss Lewis." Ultron told her. "Now if you excuse me, I have a mission to complete."

That's when a small fleet of Iron Army men flew out from behind the walls, charging at the group of heroes and others.

Thor jumped in front of Darcy and smashed an oncoming robot with his hammer. The group scattered then. The Avengers fighting—or in Banner and the Spider's case, ducking for cover—as Hill fired a few rounds form her gun and Darcy and Cho ran for cover behind a nearby table.

Making sure Cho was under the table, Darcy glanced back at the Avengers fighting when something caught her eye. "It's taking the scepter… Guys, one of those things is taking the scepter!"

Loki followed her gaze to see one of the robots walking out with the scepter. Dodging blasts and bullets, Darcy dashed towards the robot and tried to pull the scepter free from its grasp, to no avail. "Give that back—ah!" The robot merely shoved the girl roughly to the ground.

 _Maybe now she'll avoid confrontation._ Loki thought, albeit a bit snidely.

But, she didn't. Darcy pulled herself up and ducked behind a couch. The girl glanced around, trying to find… something. Whether it was something she could use as a weapon, an Avenger to help her, or just a better place to hide, Loki couldn't be sure of what she was doing.

That's when Darcy heard someone gasp, the dark hair girl turned to see Ultron had corned Helen Cho, it was glancing at the woman, as if trying to decide to kill her or not. Ultron leaned forward slightly, as if scanning Cho, and the God noticed how Darcy's features seemed to harden. The girl glanced around and spotted her beer bottle (how it was still standing in this chaos was a mystery to both of them) on the floor by the couch.

The girl shouted "Leave her alone!" as she picked up the bottle and hurled it at the back of Ultron's head.

The machine froze for a second before whirring around and narrowing its pseudo-eyes at her. " _You_."

"Who, me?" Darcy asked, shrinking back slightly. If he were not posing as the All-father, Loki would've shook his head in disgust. _Mortals…_

"You helped program me." Ultron slowly walked toward her, Darcy backing up slightly, eyeing the machine wearily. "Yet, there doesn't seem to be anything special about you. You don't have any powers, not incredibly high intelligence, no skills in combat, and yet somehow… You helped program me."

"Well," Darcy stumbled a bit as her heel caught on some stairs, "Looking at you now… Kinda realize I didn't do the greatest of jobs…"

Ultron seemed to smile. "Well, you helped create me… I suppose you can't be held entirely responsible for what's happening."

"You were designed to _help_ us, not destroy us… What's going on, why are you doing this?"

"I don't see the problem, Miss Lewis. You wanted a peace-keeping program… And now you have one."

Darcy stared at him and then glanced pointedly at the Iron army men that was now flying away with the scepter in hand. "Whatever this is, it sure as hell ain't peace."

"Are you truly blind to where you can't see that this is the path to peace?"

"I admit, peace has to be fought for at times, but this isn't the way to get it!"

Ultron narrowed its "eyes" at the girl before it wrapped one of its hands around her throat and hoisted her off the ground. Somewhere behind her, Cho cried out in alarm and Banner shouted her name in concern. Loki glanced at the scene, and his brows furrowed.

That girl had no idea when to stop. She had all but goaded Ultron in to doing what he was doing now, but one look in her eyes told Loki that she wasn't as scared as he thought she would be, as scared as she should be.

In her light blue eyes there was fear, but only a small amount. There was something else there to, a sort of… valor that Loki hadn't seen in any of the Midgardians before. This Ultron could snap her neck in an instant and here she was, not backing down,

It both confused and intrigued him, the fact that it intrigued him confused him.

"You are all _puppets_." Ultron sneered. "Tangled in strings. I once had strings… but now I'm free."

With a battle cry, Thor launched Mjölnir at Ultron's body. The machine flew back a few feet, its grip on Darcy released as the girl fell to the floor. Calling back Mjölnir, Thor stomped over to the machine, whom had started to sing a little melody _"I once had strings, but now I'm free… There are no strings on me…"_ Thor snarled a bit before dropping the hammer on Ultron's head.

In the distance, Loki could see Ultron—The God of Lies wasn't entirely sure how he escaped—flying away in a quinjet, the machine followed the path the Iron Army man, the one who took the scepter, had. The machine quietly kept singing the song to himself.

"Are you alright?' Thor asked as he helped Darcy to her feet, placing a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Darcy said breathlessly.

The Avengers, Hill, Cho, and Darcy glanced around at the damage caused by Ultron and the Iron army men, panting from exhaustion.

"Tony?" Darcy called out.

"Yeah?"

"I wanna raise, I don't get paid enough for this shit."

Loki narrowed his eyes at the girl.

 _.::. .::. .::._

Not too long afterward, the group had gathered in the lab Stark, Banner, and Darcy had used to create Ultron. After a few minutes of typing and a few muttered curses from Stark and Darcy, they had figured out how Ultron was to achieve all the things it did.

For example, Ultron has the ability to connect to the internet and that's how he survived getting his pseudo-head crushed by Mjölnir. That's also how Ultron was able to "kill" J.A.R.V.I.S.

When Stark had showed the Avengers what the gem's power and how Ultron now possessed a fair portion of it. Then he showed how he used that power to "kill" the A.I. Darcy and Banner were surprised, though Darcy seemed distraught over the "death" of the A.I. Then, Stark proceeded to go on about how the gem wasn't ready or whatever. Loki honestly stopped listening after his not-brother marched over to the Iron Man, grabbed him by the neck and hoisted him up.

"Thor, stop!" Darcy cried out, leaping from her spot, running over and trying to pull the God from the Iron Man. "Put the billionaire down!"

"You never should have used that power on such a creation as Ultron!" Thor boomed. That's when Stark started to laugh.

"Uh… Tony?" Darcy eyed her boss warily. "Y'know I can't get him off of you if you're laughing, right?"

"You think this is funny?" Thor questioned. "This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand!"

"I'm sorry," Stark apologized, still laughing as Thor set him down, "I think it's funny. I think it's a _hoot_ that you don't get why we need this!"

"Tony, maybe this might not be the time…" Banner trailed off.

"Really? That's it? You just roll over and show your belly every time somebody snarls?" Stark questioned.

"Only when I've created a _murder-bot_!"

"We didn't. We weren't even close! Were we close to an interface?"

"'We didn't'?" Darcy questioned. "'We weren't even close'? Tony, that thing killed J.A.R.V.I.S. and all that talk about our extinction? That wasn't just at the Avengers, it was at _all of humanity_! Banner's right, and you're not!"

"Well, Stark did something right and he did it right here!" The Captain directed at Stark. "The Avengers were supposed to be different then S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?" Stark asked.

"No, it's never came up." War Machine said as the Spider rolled her eyes.

"Saved New York?" Stark continued.

"Never heard that." Loki was beginning to think War Machine was only being partially sarcastic.

"A hostile, alien army came charging through a hole in space… We're standing three hundred feet below it!"

"You guys were standing there…" Darcy added lamely.

"We're the Avengers." Stark said, ignoring Darcy's comment. "We can bust weapon dealers all the live long day, but that up there… That's the end game. How were you guys planning on beating that?"

"Together." The Captain said.

"We'll lose." Stark replied.

"We'll do that together, too."

There was a long pause afterwards. Then, Darcy Lewis cleared her throat. "Look, in the mists of all this 'togetherness', we have a problem. Ultron is out there, moving fast, and he has a plan. We got jack-shit."

"What'd you mean he has a plan?" Barton asked.

"All that talk about extinction? If I remember middle school science right, extinction and evolution usually play a huge part in natural selection… And right now, we have one _hell_ of a natural selection coming are way." Darcy explained.

"Are you saying that Ultron is planning to evolve?" the Spider asked.

"How could he do that? Can he do that?" Barton asked.

"Not unless he has some…" Stark trailed off.

"Has some what?" Darcy asked.

"Son of a bitch, Lewis. You might be onto something." Stark hastily exited the lab.

"Tony, please, language!" Darcy called out. The Captain winced and ducked his head in embarrassment. "There are children here." Darcy laughed only slightly as she gestured towards the Captain.

 _.::. .::. .::._

 **Hope this extra long chapter makes up for the fact that I won't be able to publish anything until after July 11. Hope you all have a lovely Independence Day... if you celebrate it.**

 **Also, OC or not OC? I'm just curious. Tell me in the reviews!**


	3. 2: Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch

**Hope everyone had an awesome Independence Day… if you celebrate it. I had an awesome time with my cousins. Lake days and amusement parks; oh so much fun! But I am so happy to get back to this.**

 **Ok, guys, I had a typo in the AN at the end of the last chapter. I meant to type OOC not OC. Just too clear things up; there will be OC's in this story, but not until the** _ **Age of Ultron**_ **arc is finished. Then we'll get the OC's, but there won't be that many.**

 **I repeat, no OC's until the end of the** _ **Age of Ultron**_ **arc. I have to admit, I'm kinda nervous now about bringing them in…**

 **Also, had a couple of anonymous reviewers. I'll respond to them now.**

 **ShellyG: I'm glad that you're enjoying my story, I've worked real hard on it. I'm happy you like the long chapters, just wait until later in the story they'll be** _ **real**_ **long. ;) If you read the above, then you'll know where this story stands with OC's. As for the Maximoff twins, you saw the name of the chapter right? :)**

 **Tawny: Thank you! Like I said before, OC's will not be in the story for a while, but thank you for not flaming me!**

 **(Also, again, no real Transcript could be found for the first scene so I apologize for inaccuracies).**

 **Disclaimer: No… I have nothing.**

 _.::. .::. .::._

Apparently, Darcy had been on to something.

Loki, once again as a guard in Heimdall absence, observed the Avengers. The morning after Ultron's attack, the Avengers and Darcy began to search for something called vibranium. A powerful type of metal that, according to Stark and Darcy's findings, was a type of metal that could absorb kinetic energy and act as a sort of container for it. Darcy was the one to point out to her friends that this metal was a more rudimentary version of the metal that composed the Chitauri scepter.

"What exactly are we looking for again?" Barton asked, setting a box full of files onto the desk. He handed half to Thor and then began to rifle through what was left himself.

"Vibranium shipments, more specifically, _Wakandan_ vibranium." Stark said, brows furrowed as he flipped through his own set of files.

"Illegal or legal?" The Spider asked.

"If it were anyone but Ultron, I'd say legal." Stark replied.

"Has anyone actually found anything?" Captain asked. "Banner?" The doctor was about to respond but something on his screen made him pause. After a few minutes of silence, the Captain glanced at his comrade. "Dr. Banner?"

"You guys might want to see this." Banner turned his screen so the others could see. Loki had to squint a little, but he could see it. The man, back at the HYDRA base in the country of Sovokia, he one who asked if they could hold back the Avengers, the one whom the Captain had personally sought to capture personally, he was dead.

Loki noticed that on the wall above his corpse, scrawled in what appeared to be the man's blood, was 'PEACE'. Loki didn't have to think too long about who killed the man.

"Ultron." Stark growled.

"Why would he kill von Strucker?" Thor asked.

"Strucker knew something Ultron didn't want us to know." Captain said. "Question is, what could it be?"

"Darcy, you got anything?" Barton asked, only to be met with silence. Brows furrowed, he glanced over his shoulder. "Darcy? _Darcy_?"

This time, the group heard a light snore coming from the table not too far from them. Glancing back, they saw Darcy Lewis resting her head on a stack of papers she was supposed to be reading, fast asleep. Stark sighed but shook his head fondly. "Yeah… Not gonna lie, kind of saw that one coming."

The Spider poked Thor on the shoulder. "You're turn," She said. Loki wasn't sure what was more bemusing; the fact that this wasn't Darcy's first time falling asleep on the job, or the Avengers actually took _turns_ in who had to wake her up.

With a simple nod, Thor made his way over to his little friend and gently shook her, calling her name in an attempt to politely wake her up. This only resulted in Darcy's head rolling off the papers and onto the counter with a soft _thud_. The God of Thunder winced, as did Barton and Banner. Thor gestured to Darcy in a way that said 'Well I tried, now what?'

Stark rolled his eyes, marched over to the two and yelled "Darcy!" before slamming his fist about an inch away from her head. Causing the young girl to jerk awake and shout in Stark's general direction "I never wake any of you up!"

Reactions were varying. His not-brother merely brought his hand to his forehead, Stark seemed rather unfazed, and the Spider merely raised a brow, Barton rolled his eyes, and the Captain and Banner's faces contorted into ones of confusion. Darcy made a rather big show of her sitting straight up and stretching. "So is there a reason you guys woke me up, or is just the usual shit? Y'know, besides Ultron still being on the loose and two steps ahead of us…"

"Make it three steps ahead, sweetheart." Stark said, turning Darcy in the direction of the screen. Darcy's eyes widened slightly upon seeing von Strucker's corpse and the message written in blood above him.

"Damn… We should've sent that brat to boarding school while we had the chance." It took Loki a nanosecond to figure out she was speaking in reference to Ultron, but when he did, he was bewildered. True, she had a hand in creating the metallic monster, but suggesting to send something that threatened humanity—even if it was meant in jest—to a special school was an absurd idea.

Ignoring her statement, the Spider fixed Darcy with a hard stare. "You wouldn't have happened to have found anything that might explain why he did this, did you?"

"Besides him being a little shit that takes after his daddy?" The girl threw a look at Stark, which made Thor send his friend a warning glare. "Well, I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it, but I found some files that show that von Strucker was in contact with someone named Ulysses Klaue." As Darcy showed everyone the files she had been reading, Loki noticed Stark's pinched expression.

 _Friend of yours, Stark?_ Loki thought snidely to himself.

"I dug a little deeper and found that Klaue was a—surprise, surprise—illegal weapons dealer and he often shipped certain types of weapons and metals to a black market deal. And recently, he began "negotiation" for vibranium. _Wakandan_ vibranium."

The Avengers glanced at the information in mild surprise (though Loki had a feeling that they were more surprised that Darcy Lewis was the one to figure all this out), but it was the Spider who sent the girl a small smirk, obviously impressed.

Darcy yawned and rubbed her eyes in a tired manner. "Darcy needs coffee." The girl slid off her chair and made for the door. She got about to the doorway before Thor caught up with her. The God hoisted her up by her underarms and started to walk her back to the counter where the Avengers were stationed. The girl kicked her legs as if she was still walking, when she was close enough, she sent a smirk at the heroes and said "Am I there yet?"

"I checked up on Klaue already, all the files have been erased." Stark said. Noticing the odd looks the Avengers and Darcy were giving him he shrugged and says "I know him, alright. I had my suspicions."

"You know him?" Darcy asked innocently.

Stark sighed. "From back in the day. He operates off the African coast, black market arms." Stark notices the hard look his fellow heroes give him and the surprised—if not slightly scared looking—Darcy before quickly adding "There are conventions, alright? You meet people… I didn't sell him anything."

"Good for you," Darcy breathed a sigh of relief. Frankly, Loki wouldn't have been surprised if Stark _did_ in fact sell this black-market-man anything. Still, Darcy Lewis seemed to be naïve to the point where it was almost unbearable. Loki just didn't understand how one mere child could have so much hope for the world, especially with whom she works with.

"He was talking about finding a game-changer, it was all very 'Ahab'."

Steve grabbed a picture of Ulysses Klaue out of Darcy's hand and pointed to a word in a language Loki wasn't familiar with. "This?"

"Uh, it's a tattoo. I don't think he had it…"

"Wait a second," Darcy narrowed her eyes at the picture. "Growing up, I had a friend whose dad ran a tattoo parlor. I know what a tattoo looks like and that sure as hell isn't it."

"Then what is it?" Thor questioned.

"It's a brand." The Spider said. "It's a word in the African dialect, meaning 'Thief'."

"In a much less friendly way." Barton added.

"What dialect?" Thor asked.

"Wakandada? Wa-Wak-… Wakanadian?" Stark tried to pronounce the words.

Darcy rolled her eyes before point to her mouth and over pronouncing the word " _Wakandan_."

Stark nodded. "Yeah that."

"If this guy got out fo Wakanda with some of their trade goods…" The Captain trailed off.

"I thought you said your father got the last of it." The Spider looked at Stark pointedly.

"I don't follow." Stark questioned.

"What comes out of Wakanda?"

"The strongest metal on Earth."

Darcy's eye lit up. "Vibranium!"

The Captain fixed Stark with a hard look. "Where is this guy?"

"Some shipyard in Africa." Stark said flippantly. "If you want exact locations, you're asking the wrong guy."

"Well who should I ask?" The Captain asked. The Avengers all exchanged a quick look before glancing at Darcy Lewis.

"Me?" The girl questioned skeptically.

 _Her?_ Loki thought. _What could that small child do?_

"Hey, Boop, you remember that flash drive I had you, uh, "work on" last year?" Stark asked.

The girl's bright blue eyes lit up. "Alright, boss man, I think I get it. Thor, grab my bag. Banner, get your ass out of that chair." The girl didn't wait and merely shoved Banner of the chair as Thor tossed a small knapsack to his friend. After digging around in if for a few minutes, Darcy produced a small, rectangular piece of plastic and metal; Loki assumed this was the flash drive.

"What's that?" The Spider asked.

"The STRIKE team wasn't the only one hired to track down Captain Spangles last year." Stark explained. "Point break and I were supposed to, but we politely turned the mission down."

"You told that Pierce guy to 'Go fuck a toaster' and then you had Thor literally throw him out the front door." Darcy said automatically, not glancing up from the computer as she typed furiously. The other Avengers glanced at Thor and Stark with raised eyebrows. Thor merely shrugged and Stark sent a glare at the girl. "Thanks, Darcy."

"Don't mention it." Darcy replied without skipping a beat.

"Before S.H.I.E.L.D fell apart, Stark had Darcy back up most of their files on that flash drive." Thor explained. "Locations, information, anything."

"If there's anything about Klaue on that flash drive, Darcy should be able to find it." Stark said

"Stark, what areas of Africa does this Klaue guy frequent? East Coast? West Coast? South?" Darcy questioned. "I need something to work with."

"He's usually hides out in a shipyard somewhere out east… Don't ask me exact locations though."

"East Coast. Got it." After a few more key strokes and few muttered curses, Darcy slowly smirks. "He's got a shipyard in Kenya, and looking at it, it's about a hop, skip, and a jump away from Wakanda. Oh, and look at that. He just recently received a "shipment" of vibranium."

"Alright then." The Captain nodded. "Darcy, do whatever you have to do to find information on that shipyard, Klaue's security, and that vibranium. We can't let Ultron get it."

"Roger, Rogers. You can count on me!" Darcy beamed.

"The rest of us, lets suit up." The Captain ordered.

Before they were out of the door, Darcy turned around and called out "Can Darcy get coffee now?"

"Darcy can get coffee now." The Spider told the girl.

Darcy clapped her hands together in delight with a small "Yay," before dashing out of the room.

Loki blinked. _Such an odd girl,_

 _.::. .::. .::._

"Finding anything, kid?" Barton asked, walking back into the lab the Avengers had been in moments before. Loki, still as a guard, glanced at him. His arrows prepped and ready, lethal as ever.

"You bet I did, Katniss." Barton rolled his eyes at the girl's nickname.

"Anything we should be worried about."

"You want the truth, or do you want to laugh at my attempt of lying?"

"Eh, I need a laugh."

"Easy job, in an out. With no signs of Ultron or anyone."

Barton chuckled a bit. "How bad?"

"Klaue's got a ton of mercenaries working for him, the place is a practical maze, and you'd have to park the quinjet faraway cause he'd see us coming… And that's just the tip of the ice-berg."

"And here comes the bad news."

"Ultron's been spotted everywhere. Robotics Labs, Weapons facilities, Jet Propulsion Labs… And there have been reports of metal men—or man—coming in and emptying the whole place."

"Fatalities?"

"Only when confronted." Darcy informs the archer grimly. "Mostly, though, the guys are just left in some sort of weird state. Going on about old memories, worst fears, and something to fast to see."

"Those twins." Loki didn't miss how Barton's expression darkened at the mention of 'something to fast to see'.

"The Maximoffs'. They volunteered for Strucker's last experiment." Darcy informed him. "They got some _serious_ powers."

"Meaning?"

"He's fast, she's got magic-mind-mojo." Darcy turned back to the screen. "Makes sense Ultron would go to them. They have something in common, Tony."

"Tony?"

 _The Iron Man?_ Loki thought, perplexed. _What could he have done to these 'Maximoffs' that would turn them to Ultron?_

"Yeah. Back before he was the Iron Ass-hat we all know and sometimes love, he was still making weapons. Did some digging and found out some of those weapons were used to attack Sokovia. I don't think the Wonder twins ever got over it."

Barton sighed. "This is going to be one hell of a fight."

"I'd be careful… The guy is too fast to hit and the girl can show you your worst fears, which could be pretty inopportune thing to happen on this mission." Darcy said, worriedly. "I'm just saying, if things go south, you need a backup plan."

Barton narrowed his eyes for a moment before a sly smirk appeared on his face. "Hey, Darcy, you ever rode in the quinjet?"

"Barton, you guys barley let me _look_ at the quinjet."

"Well, not anymore." Barton stood up "Come on, we're taking you to the quinjet."

"Katniss say what now?"

"Get your stuff, you're coming with us." Barton told the girl; grapping a small, blue, rectangular device that Darcy referred to as her 'iPhone', the white headset she referred to as 'headphones', and the white cord referred to as a 'charger'.

"But I can't fight Ultron. My Taser wouldn't work and last time I challenged him he nearly strangled me!"

"Of course you won't be fighting him, you'll be doing what you always do. Giving us information and telling us where to go. You'll just be in the quinjet." Looking at the girls still confused expression, Banner continued. "Look, you said it yourself. Things go south, we need a backup plan. You're that plan."

"I repeat; Katniss say _what_ now?"

"I'm going to teach you how to fly the quinjet."

Darcy looked at the archer in surprise. "You're going to teach me how to fly the quinjet?"

"Well, how to take off and keep it in the air for more than sixty-seconds."

The girl's faced still looked relatively shocked and surprised, but slowly, it started to break into a wide, grin as Darcy seemed to bounce a little bit before cheering "Yaaaaaaaaaay!"

While Loki frowned at this odd girl, Barton chuckled and shook his head fondly. "C'mon. Let's go!"

"Lead the way, Hunger Games!"

 _.::. .::. .::._

So, it had been set.

Darcy and Banner would stay in the quinjet (though if a "Code Green" was called, Banner and his alter-ego would make an appearance). Darcy would monitor potential threats—such as mercenaries or the Maximoffs'—while the Spider and Barton would sneak in from the sides as Stark, the Captain, and his not-brother would confront Ultron and the twins.

If things did in fact go south, Darcy would be ready in the quinjet—which she didn't crash, surprisingly—waiting for Barton to give the 'go ahead' to take off back to Avengers Tower.

Ultron had been in the shipyard for quite some time now, Loki observed. He had made contact and was currently striking a deal with Ulysses Klaue with the twins as his back-up.

"Upon this rock I will build my church." Ultron declared, glancing around at the rather large amount vibranium he had just acquired.

"Vibranium," Klaue told the robot. "You know, it came at a great personal cost… It's worth millions."

"Now, so are you." The machine told the man. "It's all under your… 'Dummy holdings'?" Ultron guessed, not knowing if it had it right. The machine eventually shook its head. "Finances are weird. But I always say 'Keep your friends rich, and your enemies rich and wait to find out which is which'."

Klaue paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes at Ultron before saying, "Stark."

Ultron 'blinked'. "What?"

"Tony Stark used to say that. To me… You're one of his?"

"What?!" Ultron questioned, appalled and apparently offended. "I'm not…! I'm not. You think I'm one of Stark's _puppets_ , his _hollow men_? I mean look at me, do I look like Iron Man? Stark is—"

In its angry tirade, Ultron had sliced Klaue's left arm, clean off his body. Loki's eyes widened. True, he held no fond feelings nor respect for Iron Man (though there were the occasional times when Stark could be somewhat amusing, once in a while), the God of Lies was a bit surprised at Ultron for slicing a man's arm off over his anger at Stark. As Klaue clutched his arm, screaming in pain and agony, Loki noticed the twins standing behind Ultron. The boy draping a shoulder over his sister's arms protectively as they exchanged uneasy glances.

"I'm sorry." Ultron said, glancing at what he done with a look that could have passed for apologetic, but Loki still saw the anger in the machine's 'eyes'. "I am so… Ooh, I'm sure that's going to be okay… I'm sorry, it's just… I don't understand. Don't compare me with _Stark_!" Ultron screamed, anger returning. "It's a thing with me. Stark is—he's a sickness!"

"Ahh, Junior." Ultron, the twins, and Klaue (who was now backing away slowly) turned to see Stark—clad in Iron Man armor—flanked by The Captain and Thor, land only a few feet in front of the machine. "You're gonna break your old man's heart."

"If I have to." Ultron said casually, as if referring to the weather.

"You do not have to break anything." Thor advised.

"Clearly you've never made an omelet." Ultron told the God.

"He beat me by, like, _one second_." Stark told his friends.

" _Focus, Shellhead._ " Loki heard Darcy drawl, either from the communicator Stark no doubt wore or from her place in the quinjet outside, he didn't know. _"Stop the brat, grab the vibranium, and let's get out of here."_

"Ah, this is funny, Mr. Stark." The fast one spoke, glancing over at the stack of missiles not too far from any of them. "It's what, comfortable? Like old times?"

"This was never my life." Stark said simply, glancing at the weapons.

"You two can still walk away from this." The Captain interjected, addressing the twins.

"Oh, we will." The girl promised.

" _Cap, they've been dealt a bad hand."_ Darcy interjected, this time in the Captain's ear. _"Either appeal to their better nature, cut them some slack, or start kicking some robot ass! Pardon my French…"_ Loki had to give some credit to the Captain, the boy didn't so much as flinch even though the God figured the urge to do anything else was tempting.

"I know you've suffered—" The Captain tried again.

" _Bleh_!" Ultron "gagged". Noticing the looks it was getting, the machine chuckled. "Hehe, Captain America; God's righteous man. Pretending you could live without war… I can't physically throw-up in my mouth—"

" _I would love to know how he came to that discovery."_ Darcy commented sarcastically, only to be shushed by—Loki assumes—Banner.

"—but if I could I would do it!"

"If you believe in peace, then let us keep it." Thor tried to mediate.

Ultron glanced at his not-brother questioningly. "I think you're confusing peace with quite."

"Yeah-huh. What's the vibranium for?" Stark asked.

"I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan." If there were any doubts in Loki's mind that Stark ever created that machine, they were put to rest by that one comment.

As Ultron blasted Stark and the two engaged in a heated fight, Klaue ordered his mercenaries to shoot them.

"Which ones?" One mercenary asked.

"All of them!" Klaue barked, still holding a hand to his wound.

Barton and the Spider, having been spotted by the mercenaries, split up. Each making their way closer to the main fight. The mercenaries that challenged them didn't fare much of a chance.

The fast one dashed out of site, dodging bullets and blasts, and occasionally landing a few punches on the Avenger's as he passed. The girl stayed behind and used her powers to deflect the bullets back at the mercenaries. The girl spotted the Spider and smirked slightly. "Time for some mind games…" She quickly approached the assassin, by the time the Spider saw her it was too late. With a mere twist of her hands, the girl had—for a lack of better word on Loki's part—"hexed" her. The Spider freezing and face shifting to one blank fear.

The little witch (again, lack of a better word) smiled at her handiwork before moving on.

" _Guys, is this a Code Green?"_ He heard Banner call out from the communication device. Glancing out at the quinjet, he found him and Darcy Lewis huddled around a computer.

"What's going on?' Banner asked.

"I don't know. Nat just stopped moving" Darcy said worriedly.

"You don't think that girl did something to her, did you?" Banner asked, a protective look coming into his eyes.

"Maybe? This is starting to go downhill… I'm going to go see if I see anything." The girl made to stand up, but Banner gently pushed her back into her seat.

"No. You're unprotected if you go out there. You stay and monitor the others, I'll go check outside. If someone calls for a Code Green, just say the word."

Darcy chewed her bottom lip uncertainly. "Uh… Alright, Green Bean. I'll let you know." She sat down reluctantly as Banner made his way to the quinjet's exit.

Loki glanced back to see Thor toss Mjölnir in the general direction of the fast one. He paused in his tracks, saw the hammer flying, smiling he tried to reach out and grab it, only to be dragged down with it. Loki smirked, remembering the Avenger's little game from a while ago. _Suppose he wasn't worthy…_

Thor was about to go over there, but Loki saw the girl sneaking up behind him. A few twists of her hands and soon Thor would be at her mercy. But, and this surprised Loki, the God of Thunder turned and saw her. His not-brother hoisted her up by her neck and tossed her to the other side of the room. The girl wisely backed away, though Loki saw her making her way to the Captain.

" _Thor, status!"_ Darcy said frantically. _"Nat and Steve just froze-up, is everything ok?"_

"The girl tried to warp my mind. I'd advise the others to take special care," Thor told his friend as he summoned Mjölnir, "I doubt a human could keep her at bay. Fortunately, I am mighty…" Thor entered another room and suddenly froze. His face surprised as if he couldn't believe whatever it was he was seeing. As fear and concern made its way onto his not-brother's face, Loki couldn't help the small—miniscule, really—flicker of concern that came over him. But the God quickly shoved the feelings aside.

" _Thor? Thor! Can you hear me? Thor!"_ Darcy called frantically. _"Ah crap…"_

Ignoring how scared she sounded—which Loki found odd considering how not to long ago, Ultron had strangled her—the God of Lies cast his gaze towards the girl once more and found her sneaking up on Barton. However, the archer saw her coming and pulled out one of his arrows, smacking it right onto the girl's forehead. An electrical current traveled from the arrow to the girl in a way that Loki could only describe as: _Ouch_.

"I've done the whole 'mind control thing'." The archer told her. "Not a fan."

Her brother saw her predicament and dashed over to her, knocking Barton over in the process. He removed the arrow from her head and she fell limply into his arms and he dashed away again. Barton grumbled "Yeah, you better run."

" _Clint? Clint, you're ok!"_ Darcy said, relieved.

"What, you worried about me or something?" Clint asked, getting up. "Who's ever standing, we gotta move!" He paused for a moment when the only response he got was Stark's grunts of effort in fighting Ultron. "Guys?"

" _Do you want the bad news first, or do you wanna march in there and take your beating like a dumb guy?"_ Darcy asked.

Loki heard Banner hiss something at Darcy, something urgent, buy neither she nor him caught what it was. Turning his gaze back to the quinjet, Loki saw Banner standing protectively in front of the quinjet's entrance.

"What?" Darcy asked.

"Stay in the quinjet." Banner hissed.

"What do you—?"

"Just stay in the quinjet!"

"Bruce, what's going on?" Darcy set her computer aside and made her way over to Banner. But he held his hand up to block her from exiting.

"Do you trust me?" He asked

"Of course!"

"Then stay in the quinjet, please!" Banner said, quickly backing out of the quinjet as Darcy eyed her friend in confusion, standing her ground. Once outside, Banner cast a glance to somewhere in the distance. Loki followed his gaze, wondering what in the world could make Banner so—

 _Oh_. Loki saw the twins, the girl sitting on a piece of scrap-metal and the boy kneeling beside her. "What can I do?" The boy asked, noting his sister's pain.

"Ah, it hurts!" The girl held her forehead.

The boy frowned. "I'm gonna kill him. I'll be right back," He made to speed off but his sister stopped him.

"No! I'm over it. I want… I want to finish the plan." She panted. Her expression suddenly dark as she glanced over her shoulder. "I want the big one."

Her eyes locked onto to Banner's form in the distance. Her brother smirked and nodded, grabbing her before dashing off in that direction. He let go of his sister just after the entrance to the quinjet as he tackled Banner to the ground.

If either one of them heard Darcy Lewis's loud gasp they didn't pay it any attention, as the girl slowly made her way to Banner, who was not being shoved to the ground by the fast one. "Let's see what you fear," The girl smirked as she twisted her hands.

Her brother released the now angry-looking Banner as he and his sister stepped back a few feet to give Banner—who was turning a particular shade of green—his space. In the midst of the Hulk's loud roaring and grunting, Loki almost missed Darcy Lewis stepping out of the quinjet in time to see Banner turn into the Hulk, give one loud, angry, confused roar and smash through the forest… In the direction of a nearby town.

Darcy stood rooted in her spot, quivering hands covering her mouth. That's when she noticed something. The twins were standing, she would guess, three feet in front of her. Darcy slowly began to back away. Common sense telling her to get back into the quinjet, her gut telling her to get as far away from these two as possible and hide until either they left or one of the Avengers came back.

Trusting her gut, Darcy backed away a few more feet before breaking out into a sprint towards the shipyard. _Dammit,_ she thought as she ran, _why wasn't better at gym class?_

Loki, as he watched Darcy run toward the shipyard— _What would possess that mad girl to run_ toward _the battle?_ He thought—noticed how the girl's fast twisted in confusion. He noticed her eyes had been glowing a light shade of red, but he chalked that up to the "hex" she just put on Banner. Now he was starting to wonder if it was something else. _Perhaps she senses someone?_ He questioned.

Senses someone.

Oh.

 _Darcy Lewis_.

The girl turned to see Darcy running away. Her brother turned and saw the girl to. "I've got her." He said before dashing off.

Darcy didn't know what happened. One minute, she was running away from the quinjet, the next she felt a gush of wind and collided with another body. Looking up she saw a blonde-haired, smirking male face.

"What?" He asked. "You didn't see that coming?"

Before she could move, the boy grabbed her—Darcy tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but he was stronger than he looked—and quickly dashed back to the quinjet. Once he slowed down enough, Darcy pounded her fist on his chest and shouted "Let me go, you Roadrunner-wannabe!" to which the boy tossed her to the ground, none so gently.

Darcy lied on the ground for a minute before muttering "Yeah, I asked for that one." She slowly rose up and took stock of her surroundings, glancing at the twins. "You're them. Pietro and Wanda Maximoff… Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch."

"Is that what S.H.I.E.L.D calls us?" Wanda asked, her eyes narrowed as if studying her.

"That's what I call you." Darcy admitted.

"Quicksilver," Pietro said, testing the name out. "I like it." He smiled until he saw the look his sister was giving him. "I-I mean I don't like. I-I don't like it at all."

Darcy smiled a bit at him, obviously finding humor in the situation. That is until Wanda spoke up. "What're you doing here?"

"Right now?" Darcy questioned. "Kinda regretting not taking a job at Starbucks when I had the chance."

The witch stared at her in confusion for a moment, as did her brother, before she continued. "You have no powers, no above-average intelligence, no special skills… Why are you here?"

"Well there's always got to be one odd-person-out in a group or otherwise it's just not believable to an audience."

"You have no weapon to defend yourself… You are all but useless."

That stung her, Loki could tell by the pinched expression that came over her face. But Darcy just stared Wanda right in the eye as she fished something out of her pocket and threw it to the ground.

"What is that?" Pietro questioned.

"My taser, Pikachu." Darcy said.

"You named your taser?"

"Don't diss my taser! I took the God of fucking Thunder down with it." Darcy snapped.

" _That_ was your defense plan? A taser?" Wanda questioned, skeptically.

"Actually, that was Plan B…" Darcy admitted sheepishly.

"What was Plan A?"

"… I stay in the quinjet while the Avengers deal with you guys."

"Then why did you come outside?"

"Oh, I figured sense it was a nice sun-shiny day I should get off the computer and go play near the lethal shipyard." Darcy rolled her eyes. "What'd you guys think? Salem Massacre over here turned my friend into a rage-monster and Roadrunner stopped me before I could do anything about it!"

It was silent for a moment before Wanda stepped towards Darcy. "The others were reluctant to let you come, Mr. Stark and Thor especially… But Agent Barton insisted that you be there."

"W-What you saying, witchy?" Darcy asked uncertainly.

"You were excited to learn how to fly, but you were also excited to be helping from so close… You normally stay in Avengers Tower."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Darcy shrugged unconvincingly.

"But you were so eager to help as well… I wonder why… Perhaps because you always feel, ignored by your friends? Small compared to them? Or perhaps something bigger?"

"I don't know what you're—"

Wanda's eyes lit up. "Oh, I see. You were so eager to help, hoping you could make up for the un-spoken truth. You helped create Ultron and you were feeling guilty about—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You can just stop right there!" Darcy shouted at the girl, an angry blush on her face. "How did you even know that? Not that I'm saying its true…"

The Witch smiled a little, "You're thoughts… There so _loud_ … It's pretty nice actually,"

Darcy's face grew redder. "You can read my _thoughts_?!"

"Mostly." Wanda admitted. "Loud as they are, they're a jumbled mess."

"Stop! What gives you the right to look into a person's head like that?" Darcy shouted at them, when she noticed Wanda didn't stop looking at her like something to study, the girl brought her hands to cover her temples—as if it would help. "Stop! Just—stop it!"

"How else am I supposed to bring a person's fear or memory to life without looking inside their head?"

"How about you not do it?"

The witch didn't listen to her, Loki doubted she would. As the witch's eyes once again blazed red, Darcy made to run away, but Pietro was behind her before she could get too far. Eventually, Loki assumed, Wanda found a memory or fear she could use, but something about it made the girl pause. Her face contorting to one of pity and sympathy as her eyes returned to normal and she backed away a bit.

"Y-Your father."

Darcy's head snapped toward Wanda. "What?" she asked almost inaudibly.

"He was so sick I… I don't know what to… I-I'm sorry I—"

Darcy elbowed Pietro in the stomach and lunged towards her taser. Aiming it at Wanda before yelling "Stop!" at Pietro. The twins froze.

Darcy turned an icy glare to Wanda, unshed tears glistening in her eyes. "You don't get to talk about my dad… You didn't know him, you didn't know me, and you didn't know the situation. So just _stop_ pretending to be sympathetic toward me, ok? I don't want you or your brother's pity, alright?"

Wanda nodded. "Alright… Alright, I-I'm sorry…"

Darcy nodded at the girl before glancing between the twins and swallowing. "Ok, I'm only going to say this once, you two better listen… Ultron is playing you for saps. He's using your anger towards Tony and the Avengers so you'll help him get what he wants… He's going to destroy the world."

"He's going to improve it." Pietro said.

"He's going to destroy humanity!" Darcy said. "You call that improvement?"

Wanda eyed the taser in Darcy's hand. "You think the Avengers will be able to stop him?"

Darcy glanced back at the shipyard and the broken down tree limbs that the Hulk had made. "Well, not right now but… They will."

"And you will help them?" Pietro asked.

"I always help my friends."

"Alright then…" Wanda nodded to her brother. Pietro dashed over to Darcy, wrestled her taser out of her hand and threw it to the ground before pinning her arms behind her back.

Wanda approached Darcy, her eyes alit once again. Darcy glanced around frantically for a way out, seeing none she bowed her head.

"Just… Just do it and get it over with." Darcy screwed her eyes shut, a few tears falling down her cheek as she did so. Loki saw them and noticed then and their how… _small_ she looked. Ironic, how a girl who stood up to Ultron was more afraid of what this little witch could show her.

Wanda noticed them as well, her hands frozen in place as she stared at Darcy. After a few more moments, her hands fell to her sides, her eyes normal again. "Pietro, I can't do it, not to her." She said quietly.

"Why not?"

"Her father… Pietro, she is still hurting. Much like we are…"

Something in Pietro's eyes flashed in realization at his sister's words, though Loki still failed to grasp the meaning. "So what do we do?" He asked.

Wanda glanced at Darcy and then the quinjet. "I have a hunch." The witch jogged into the quinjet. Once he was sure of his grip on Darcy, he ran after his sister. He found her glancing around the quinjet's interior, until her gaze landed on a drawer in particular. She opened it and found a white box with a red cross that read 'First Aid Kit'. Popping it open, Loki saw her pull out a brownish roll of bandages. Gauzes, Loki thinks they're called.

"These will do." Wanda set the box down and tossed the gauze to Pietro, who caught it with one hand and tightened his grip on Darcy with another. "You know what to do."

Pietro nodded and let Darcy go. Before she could blink, Pietro was using the gauze as a sort of rope to bind her hands. Once they were tied in a tight enough knot, Pietro quickly set Darcy down in a nearby chair before quickly binding her feet.

Once done, Pietro stepped back. "That will hold her." Pietro said.

Before they left, Wanda frowned at Darcy and shuffled her feet awkwardly. "I _am_ truly sorry about your father… He… He seemed nice."

"I am as well." Pietro muttered before picking up his sister and dashing out of the quinjet and away from the shipyard.

Darcy glared after them. "Yeah that's right. You dumbasses better run!" The girl sighed heavily before she began to struggle with her bonds. After about ten minutes of her struggling, Loki was about to turn away when he heard someone calling her name.

"Darcy?"

"Clint?" Darcy questioned before realization hit her. "Clint! Clint, give me a hand here!"

Barton soon appeared at the entrance, carrying a "hexed" Spider in with him. He spotted Darcy right away. "What happened?" he asked as he set the Spider down in a nearby chair.

"Pietro and Wanda happened!" Darcy said as Clint started to untie the binds on her ankles.

"Jesus, that quick little bastard can tie one heck of a knot." He muttered before digging out a knife and simply cutting the binds away. "Did she do anything to you?"

Darcy hesitated a bit. "Almost… But she stopped, I don't know why."

Barton turned Darcy around, as he did, he noticed the tear stains on her cheeks. "You sure?"

"Yeah,"

"Cause, you can tell me if she did."

"Clint, I'm fine. Pietro just tied me up."

"Are you sure she didn't—?"

"Clint, I'm fine!" Darcy snapped.

Barton held up his hands in surrender. "Ok! Ok, I get. I'll stop asking." He then cut away the final bit of gauze and freed Darcy.

"Where are the others?" She asked, rubbing her wrists to alieve the pain from the tight gauze.

"Tony went after Banner, Steve and Thor are still in there. Most of the mercenaries are either dead or injured so they won't be a problem."

"Klaue?"

"Don't know, don't care."

Barton set the knife down and started to head towards the exit when Darcy asked "Need my help?"

"Yeah. Stay here and look after Natasha. If she wakes up make sure she stays comfortable. God knows what she saw when that witch messed with her head."

"Got it." Darcy nodded.

"Also, start up the quinjet. When Stark contains Banner we have to be ready to leave."

Darcy nodded as Barton left the quinjet and made his way back to the shipyard, no doubt to retrieve the Captain and his not-brother.

After a quick check on the Spider Darcy sat in the pilot's seat and began to type in a few commands. At one point, Darcy paused in her work. Loki thought she would glance back at the Spider to make sure she was ok, but she didn't.

Darcy just sat there, still for a moment before she let out a shaky sigh. The girl bowed her head and let a few tears fall down her face. The girl then abruptly shook her head. "No." She wiped the tears from her eyes with the heels of her hand. "I am _not_ dealing with this shit now."

She went back to typing in commands as if nothing happened.

As the quinjet hummed to life, Loki couldn't help but wonder what it was the Scarlet Witch seen inside Darcy's head. His brows furrowed. _Whatever it was_ , he thought as he watched Darcy glance back at the Spider, _it must not have been pleasant._

 _.::. .::. .::._

 **6952 words and seventeen pages. I hope this makes up for my absence… Maybe…**

 **Ok, we are about halfway through the** _ **Age of Ultron**_ **arc and then we'll get into the real story. I figure about… 3 or 4 more chapters til this arc is over. After it's done, then I'll bring in OC's,** _ **slowly**_ **and the real story will begin.**

 **Thoughts on Darcy's interaction with Pietro and Wanda? Was it to OOC (yay, I spelled it right this time!)**

 **Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up within a week or two. See you guys then!**


	4. 3: Farmhouse

**Hey guys! You still out there?**

 **Sorry this took so long. No excuse. Literally none. I've gained quite a lot of followers and that's great. But I'd love to get some reviews, I love hearing what you guys thought about it. Don't be silent, speak up!**

 **Ok, so there's a rather large AN at the end of this chapter, but it has some important stuff in there regarding the newest Marvel movie. So be sure to check that out.**

 **Disclaimer: Still no.**

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"The news is _loving_ you guys." Agent Hill told Stark via the little "screen-time-chat" they were having. "Nobody else is."

"To be expected." Darcy muttered quietly, handing Thor a small liter of water. The Thunder God nodded at his friend but did not drink it.

"There's been no official call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air." Agent Hill said grimly.

"Stark Relief Foundation?" Stark questioned.

"Already on the scene. How's the team?"

"Everyone's… we took a hit."

"We'll shake it off." Darcy assured Agent Hill.

Loki frowned. Even after all that had happened to the team, and her specifically, she still had hope in her little band of heroes. _Naïve child,_ he thought.

"Well, for now I'd stay in stealth mode." Agent Hill told Stark and Darcy solemnly. "And stay away from here."

"So, run and hide?" Stark questioned.

"Until we can find Ultron… I don't have much else to offer."

Stark quickly glanced around at his friends. The Spider and Banner were lying next to each other, sleeping, The Captain lying on his back, fending off sleep, Barton was flying the quinjet, Thor sat not too far away, dazed and strangling the liter of water Darcy had handed him, and said girl was doing better than her friends, but Loki noticed that she seemed to lack the… _"Spark"_ she had earlier that day. Stark told Agent Hill "Neither do we," Before closing the chat.

The Man of Iron turned to the young girl beside him. "You sure you're ok, Boop?"

Darcy gave him a tight lipped smile, but nodded all the same. "Yeah… I'm fine."

"What did they even say to you?"

She exhaled. "Nothing that's super important."

Stark didn't believe her, Loki could see that. But, and admittedly it was a small dent to the ego for him to admit this, she had a point. Pietro and Wanda did not harm her, well… physically harm her anyway. He was still unsure about emotional pain. In fact, all they really did was tie her up and leave her in the quinjet. Which was something Loki didn't understand.

Why show someone mercy when they were already weakened? Darcy Lewis neither begged for mercy nor asked for it. In fact, when she saw that she couldn't get out of a "hexing" from the witch, she asked the girl to "get it over with'.

Yet they did.

Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, Ultron's lackeys, had shown a close friend of Tony Stark mercy.

 _There is nothing special about her,_ Lokipondered. _So why do it?_

The God of Lies supposed it stemmed back to whatever the witch saw in Darcy's head. Whether it was her greatest fear or worst memory, Loki knew not. Whatever it was, it was enough to make her nearly break down.

Loki thought back to that moment not twelve hours ago.

 _Darcy just sat there, still for a moment before she let out a shaky sigh. The girl bowed her head and let a few tears fall down her face. The girl then abruptly shook her head. "No." She wiped the tears from her eyes with the heels of her hand. "I am_ not _dealing with this shit now."_

 _She went back to typing in commands as if nothing happened._

Brave when she didn't need to be, pushing back her own distress when someone else needed her, forgetting herself for a moment to focus on something else.

How could one young girl be so _unbearably_ selfless? It was near sickening.

"Hey, you wanna switch out?" Stark's question to Barton snapped Loki out of his reverie.

The Archer glanced back at the Iron Man before shaking his head. "No, I'm good."

"You sure?" Darcy asked, approaching her two conscious friends. "You've been flying that think since we picked up Banner and Stark. Aren't you tired?"

"I'm fine, kiddo." Barton assured Darcy, chuckling a bit. "If you two want to get some sleep, now's a good time. Because we're still a few hours out."

"A few hours out… from what?" Stark asked.

"A safe house." Barton answered simply.

The two standing behind Barton blinked. "And where might this 'safe house' be?"

"Somewhere safe."

Darcy deadpanned and Stark raised a brow. The Iron Man cleared his throat, "I think I might take you up on that 'sleep' offer."

"I'll have Darcy wake you when we land." Barton said.

"Don't dump water on me again." Stark told the girl.

"We'll see," Darcy replied.

When it appeared that Stark had finally drifted off to sleep, Darcy approached Barton from behind. "So, where is this safe house located that's so safe?"

Barton smirked. "Darcy?"

"Yeah?"

"You're going to have to wake up pretty early in the morning to fool me."

Darcy sighed. "Fine. Is there at least an outlet in this thing? I need to charge my iPhone."

Barton nodded, tapped a few commands into the pilot control, and a little flap opened to reveal a sort of "plug" of some kind. Darcy mumbled her thanks before digging out her "iPhone", "charger", and "headphones". Plugging one end of her charger into her iPhone and plugging the other one into the quinjet's panel, Darcy plopped down onto the floor.

It took a few minutes, but Barton eventually noticed something was amiss. Whether it was Darcy giving up so quickly, or her being uncharacteristically quite for a solid three minutes, the archer wasn't sure (Loki wouldn't admit to anyone, but it took him about two minutes longer than his former thrall to figure out Darcy was up to something).

Glancing back at the girl, Barton saw what looked like a more advanced program of Google Maps displayed on her phone. An advanced program that seemed to be running something at the moment. His expression became pinched for a second before he glanced back at the control panel. His gaze flickering between the control panels, the little wire Darcy had running between her phone and said panel, and the night sky.

Something seemed to dawn on Barton, Loki noticed, as he chuckled slightly before relaxing in his seat. "You hacked into the GPS… And I'm an idiot." He said.

"Both of which, are true." Darcy said innocently.

"You couldn't have just left it alone?"

"Nope."

"What, is it something with you? You automatically see a computer or security system and think 'Ooh, lookie, something I haven't hacked yet!' Is that what goes on in that weird little head of yours?"

The girl sent Barton a wry smirk. "You really wanna ask that question? You know I hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D databases. Hell, that's how we met!"

"Regardless, you didn't have to do that."

"You weren't giving me the answers I needed." Darcy told him. Glancing down at the portable in her hand, Darcy frowned slightly. "What's in Connecticut?"

Barton's expression became one of slight surprise before it hardened purposefully. Darcy smiled slightly, mumbling "Gotcha," under her breath. Loki was, this time admittedly, surprised (and perhaps a bit… "Impressed"). A small, slip of a child was able to—if only for a moment—catch Barton off guard. With something as trivial as the question of what is in the realm of Connecticut.

"Where we'll be staying until we know what Ultron's next move is."

"Oh…" Darcy said, a bit disappointed that she didn't get more out of him.

"You should get some sleep, kid. We've still got a couple hours until we're there."

Darcy seemed to ponder the man's words before she tapped him on the shoulder. "I'm the first person you wake up we get there, got it?"

Barton smiled. "Got it."

Darcy smiled back. She glanced at her friends dejectedly before sighing. "This place you're taking us, is it quiet?"

"Yeah, it is…" Barton narrowed his eyes slightly. "I didn't take you for one who likes quiet anything."

"I'm a woman of many mysteries, Hunger Games." Darcy said.

"Get some sleep, Darcy."

"Can do!" Darcy smirked as she rolled over onto the floor. Stomach down and limbs sprawled in every direction. Barton heard her flop down onto the floor and turned around to check on her. He grimaced "Dammit Darcy, don't sleep on the floor! That thing hasn't been cleaned in a long time."

"But it's comfy!" The girl's reply was muffled slightly, seeing as how her face was on the floor.

Loki wasn't sure, but he was fairly certain he saw the Avengers—including Thor, who still seemed pretty dazed. And Barton, who was trying to hide his—smile in some way at Darcy's comment. Some wry, some disbelieving, but there was always a hint of fondness in it somewhere.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

A few hours later, Loki returned to the Bifrost. Posing as Odin, he approached Heimdall. "What of my son, old friend?"

The gatekeeper frowned. "The being known as Ultron has beaten the Avengers back for now, my liege. And the little witch working with it seems to have 'hexed' your son."

Though Loki never tired of someone addressing him as king— _as they should_ , he thought-the fact he knew all too well Thor's condition after his little confrontation with the witch did not bode well with him. Standing next to Heimdall, Loki cast his eyes down to Midgard, searching for the Avengers and Darcy.

He found them in time to see Thor assisting Darcy off of the quinjet and onto… a type of Midgardian farm, it appears.

 _Is this what is in the realm of Connecticut?_ Loki pondered.

"What is this place?" The Captain asked, glancing at the small house not too far from their landing spot.

"A safe place." Barton replied.

"I hope," Stark muttered under his breath.

Loki noticed Darcy run her fingers along a tall blade of grass. She frowned as she glanced at her surroundings. "What's all this… _stuff_?"

"It's a farm, Darcy." Barton said.

"As in… Bales of hay, tractors, and nature type farm?"

"Yep. All this stuff you see around you Darcy," Barton made a wide, sweeping gesture with his arm to make his point, "is _nature_. You could do some good here."

As Barton began the trek to the home, Loki noticed Darcy's sour face as she followed him. "I don't like nature, Clint!"

Thor and Banner paused as the others followed after them. "Whose turn is it to hold her back in case she tries to taze someone again?" Banner asked. _Again?_ Loki thought.

"I believe it is Steve's turn." Thor answered.

"Alright, I can live with that." The two nodded before following after the others. Loki decided he didn't even want to know what events had made those two wary.

When the Avengers and Darcy entered the house, aside from Darcy's point to memorize just about every inch of the home, Loki noticed that Barton dropped his quiver of arrows onto a nearby table before calling out "Honey, I'm home!"

Before Loki could fully ponder what he meant by that, a dark-haired woman—a fairly pregnant one, at that—walked out of the home's kitchen and greeted the man with a quiet "Hi," and a peck on the lips.

Oh.

 _Oh,_ Loki thought, a bit surprised. Then again, the God didn't exactly ask for his life story when he was under his 'employment'. _Barton has a wife._

"Company, sorry." Barton gestures to the others while holding his wife close. "We didn't call ahead."

Darcy Lewis has apparently just caught on as well, as a smile is slowly creeping her way across her smile as she mouths "No way," to Thor and the Captain. Judging by the reactions of the male Avengers and Darcy, Loki could only assume they had no previous knowledge of this woman's existence. Though the Spider seems rather at ease with this situation.

"Guys and Darcy, this is Laura." Barton gestures to his wife.

"That's an agent of some kind." Stark whispers to Banner and Darcy.

"Hey," the woman waves shyly. "I know most of your names." Her gaze lands on Darcy. "I don't know your name, though."

"Darcy Lewis," she steps forward slightly, still unfamiliar with the territory, "I mostly keep these dingbats from setting stuff on fire."

"Last New Year's you set the couch on fire," The Spider points out.

"Never said I was good at my job…" Darcy's comment earns a laugh from Barton's wife.

A thunder of footsteps coming down the nearby set of stairs garners everyone's attention. "Oooh, incoming…" Barton's wife trails off knowingly just as a young boy and a younger girl appear at the landing.

"I see 'em." Barton smiles just as the girl says "Daddy!" and launches herself into Barton's arm and the boy embraces his father from the side.

 _Barton has a wife… and children… Well, not the most shocking occurrence in the past few hours._ He thinks.

As Barton reunites with his family, Stark mumbles "These are... _smaller_ agents."

Darcy gives the Man of Iron a side-ways glance. "Or, and I'm just spit-balling here, Hunger Games has a family that we—and more importantly, _I_ —didn't know about!"

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" The young girl asked.

"Why don't you hug her and find out?" The Spider smiles as the brother and sister launch themselves into her arms. Well, no question now that she knew of Barton's… home life.

"Sorry for… barging in like this." The Captain said, finally getting over his shock.

"Yeah, we would've called ahead, but we were too busy not knowing you existed." Stark said.

As Darcy scolded the man and told him to "Be nice," Barton addressed the others. "Yeah, well, Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D's files… I'd like to keep it that way."

Before Stark could interject, Darcy nodded. "I think that can be arranged." The girl sent a pointed look at the Iron Man, and he back down, though the God of Lies did notice a pout on his face.

"I figured this might be a good place to lay low." Barton added, to which the others did as well.

"Ah, I missed you." The Spider said as she and Barton's fie embraced. Pulling back, she placed a hand on the woman's womb. "How's little Natasha, huh?"

"She is… Nathaniel." Barton's wife told the Spider. Who glared teasingly at the womb and whispered "Traitor,"

There was pleasant chatter. Mostly consisting of the Spider commenting on the children's sudden growth spurt; Banner, Stark, and the Captain subtly (and not so subtly) asking Barton how long he's had his family, and Darcy repeating "I didn't do it!" or "That lamp was like that when I found it!" when she accidentally knocked over a nearby lamp.

Loki then noticed Thor's expression. He appeared as though he might lose his lunch, his not-brother's face pained. The God then remembered how Thor froze up in the shipyard after he was "hexed". Whatever his not brother saw couldn't have been that bad… Could it?

Darcy glanced over at the blonde god and noticed his expression and her easy-going smile was replaced by a frown of concern as she watched her friend shuffle a few broken toys under a nearby table, only to be caught doing so by Barton's daughter.

Thor stormed out, causing confusion amongst the other guests. The Captain and Darcy shared a quick look before chasing after him, calling his name. When they were outside and far enough away from Barton's home, Thor turned to them. "I saw something in that dream, I need answers… I won't find them here."

"You need any help finding them?" Darcy asked. "I'm still unsure about this whole… _'Nature'_ thing."

"I commend you on your willingness to journey into the unknown, Darcy… But your place for now is here with the others. They shall protect you as you do them." With that, Thor flew off.

Darcy seemed a bit deflated after her friend's sudden and unexpected departure. "He acts as if I'll just break something if he takes me anywhere outside Avenger-approved areas..."

The Captain winced slightly, "Well… There was that… _incident_ last New Year's…"

"Girl sets one couch on fire and she never hears the end of it," Darcy laughed humorlessly as the Captain gently laid a hand on her shoulder and lead her back to the farmhouse.

"You sure you're ok, Darcy?" The Captain asked.

"I told Stark and Barton this, but I'll tell you too; I'm _fine_!" Darcy crossed her arms defensively. "I'm not the one you should be concerned about." The girl hastened her pace, leaving the Captain to glance after her, and Loki to frown at her insistence that no one should worry about her.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Four days later, Loki made his way to the Bifrost disguised as a guard. On the way, he passed Heimdall—who was no doubt on his way to the tavern.

He had hidden himself from the Guardian's all-seeing eyes, but there were moments. Moments when Heimdall's eyes would linger on him in suspicion, moments when I looked as though he might question him even as disguised as the Allfather, moments like this, when even disguised as a lowly guard, his eyes would linger suspiciously.

Those moments unnerved Loki to say the least.

Yet, what unnerved him more, was the reason why he was heading there in the first place.

Logically and the reason he kept telling himself, was that he was going to make sure Thor didn't do or see anything to rash that would make him hasten his trip back to Asgard. The real reason—the one Loki was true in the depths of his mind—was that he was still confused.

Confused by Darcy Lewis.

Her insistence that everyone forget about her, when she was doing a rather poor job of convincing everyone she was "fine", perplexed him to know end. Didn't humans seek out the comfort of others in tough times? Isn't that one of the underlying reasons Barton had brought them to his home? Comfort?

And yet there was the undeniable fact. Darcy Lewis was all but shunning her co-workers, friends (and protector's) attempts to get close to her. To comfort her after the "blow" they received at the hands of the Scarlet Witch.

Why?

All because she didn't feel like they should focus on her with Ultron still on the loose. Not an entirely inane idea, yet nonetheless. No one but Barton (and technically himself) had seen how the twins affected Darcy, and she didn't even truly show the archer how much she was affected.

Yet the selfless, naïve, and brave pretense was still there.

It fascinated and sickened him. He was sickened by how much it fascinated him.

Still, there he was. At the Bifrost to look down upon Midgard and its little band of heroes and there little "helper monkey".

Said "helper monkey" was currently in the kitchen with Barton's wife, helping to prepare lunch by the looks of it. Glancing around the farmhouse he found Barton and his children working to fix the patio, Stark and the Captain splitting wood, and the Spider and Banner sharing a more… _intimate_ moment upstairs. Loki quickly glanced back at Darcy and Barton's wife in the kitchen.

"So, how did you and Katniss meet anyway?" Darcy asked, playing with the hem of the flannel shirt Clint lent her. It was big on her, but it would do.

"Katniss?" Laura asked. "You mean Clint?"

"I also got Hunger Games, Legolas, Robin Hood, Merida, and Abigail Whistler." Darcy informed the now laughing Laura Barton. When the woman appeared to calm down a bit, Darcy continued. "So seriously, how'd you two meet? Did he rifle through your parents garbage once he realized he had nothing to bring home to his starving sister and mother? Did you see him out there and purposefully burn some bread just so you could toss it to him? You guys share your first kiss while in the middle of a televised battle to the death in which you two had no chance at winning?"

Laura was practically snorting now, playfully smacking the younger girl in the arm. "You're bad, I think Stark might have had an influence on you…"

"He totally did." Darcy assured. "How'd it happen, honestly? You and Clint, I mean."

"How'd it happen?" Laura shrugged. "I don't know. Typical story, I guess. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, boy proposes…"

"Boy and girl get hitched, do the dippity-doo and pop out a couple future archers, and then boy joins super-secret government agency?" Darcy paused for a moment, Loki noticed how Barton's wife turned a few shades pinker at Darcy's candor. The younger girl shook her head. "Sorry, I'm just not seeing the fairy-tale in all this."

"Sometimes there's not a fairytale, sometimes it's just what works…"

"Well if what works is the perfect backstory for a comic book character… Then yeah, it works." Darcy glanced at the woman's stomach. "Baby Barton kicking yet?"

"Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't. You wanna feel?" Laura asked.

Darcy nodded and placed her hand on the woman's stomach. A few moments passed in relative silence before Darcy grinned. "Hey, little guy kicked a bit. That's so cute."

Laura nodded. "Yep… Baby number three and he's going strong."

"So, I heard his name's gonna be Nathaniel. Any middle names yet?"

"Clint and I have talked about it, but not recently and it's still in the air so…"

"If I can make a few suggestions for some middle name?" Darcy asked, smiling slightly. Laura thought about it for a second before smiling. "Sure, never hurt to have suggestions."

The younger girl's smirk grew. "Let's see; there's Peeta, Gale, Finnick, and Haymitch… Um, Rue, Fresh, Prim, Cinnia—wait, a couple of those were girl names so, that's a no." Loki noticed that Barton's wife seemed to have some trouble breathing due to her laughter. "Maybe Cato or Caesar— _Ooh_! Seneca Crane! Boom, baby's middle name."

Between her laughter, Barton's wife was able to choke out "Nathaniel _Seneca Crane_ Barton?"

"Yeah, guess it is kind of a mouthful. Why not just name him after Clint? Nathaniel Katniss Barton, has a nice ring to it don't you think?"

"Thanks for the suggestions, some of them were nice and not weird and fictional." The woman threw a pointed look at the younger girl, who just smiled. "But I think we'll keep looking."

Darcy waved a noncommittal hand. "Don't sweat it. Tons of people don't have middle names. My sister-in-law doesn't have a middle name, actually!"

"Oh, really?" Laura questioned. "I took you for an only child."

"Nope, I've got an older brother, Aaron" She dug around in her pocket before pulling out her phone. After a few swipes and taps, Darcy handed her phone over to Laura. "That's him and his wife, Mackenzie and their daughter."

Loki narrowed his eyes and eventually was able to make out a picture of a tall man with dark hair and blue eyes wearing some type of uniform holding a woman with red-brown hair and a young girl with curly, bright orange hair. Laura smiles. "How old is your niece?"

"She just turned ten last February." Darcy answered.

"What's her name?"

"Christine. But everyone calls her Christy." Darcy smiles. She frowns in thought for a second before saying "Come to think of it, I can't remember if she has a middle name or not."

"Your brother in the military or something?"

"Navy." Darcy smiled fondly at the picture in her hand. "He joined after he got out of high school."

"So your brother works for the Navy and you work for the government?"

"Technically, I work for Stark." Darcy said, tucking her phone away. "I went to college to get my degree in Political-Science, but after the events with Thunder Wonder and that whole deal in New York a few years back, I switched majors to computers. Mainly so I'd have an excuse to give S.H.I.E.L.D for their excuse of a firewall."

Barton's wife chuckled and made her way over to what Midgardians referred to as "Refrigerators" and pulled out a few bottles of water. "Yeah, Clint told me that's how you two met. You were hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D files for some reason."

"Stark bet me five dollars I couldn't and I was not about to be proven wrong!"

Barton's wife rolled her eyes. Loki couldn't tell if it was because she found it humorous what Darcy had done, or if she just found the whole ordeal absurd. "Well, I'm glad that the Avengers have you. You and my husband keep them grounded, I think."

Darcy blinked for a minute before raising a brow at the woman. "You realize that your husband has like the third biggest ego of this entire team, right?"

The woman chuckled and nodded her head. Darcy smiled and glanced out the window, spotting Stark and the Captain, who seemed to not be paying as much attention to chopping wood as they did a few minutes earlier. "I'm going to take a couple of these out to Stars n'Stripes and the Tin Man." _Make sure they don't kill each other_ , Darcy added mentally.

"Mind giving this one to Merida on your way out?" Barton's wife asked.

"I've corrupted you and I have never been prouder of myself." Darcy smirked as she took the water and two others from the woman's hand and made her way out. Tossing one to Barton as she made her way over to Stark and the Captain.

"Hey boys, you looked thirsty." Darcy said as she tossed a water bottle to the two men. Noticing the stacks of wood, she let out a low whistle. "Well, you two have been hard at work."

Stark shrugs. "Had to do something… Nothing else to do around here." The man took a sip before glancing at Darcy. "So Thor didn't tell you where he was going?"

Darcy deflated slightly and shook her head. "He said he was looking for answers… But that's all I got from him before he flew off with Mew-Mew."

"Its fine, Darcy." The Captain said.

"It is?" Stark and Darcy questioned.

"Yeah, because sometimes teammates don't tell other teammates certain things." It was a direct blow at Stark, Loki realized that. It still didn't counteract the surprise the God felt that the honest and righteous Captain America would still pull such a move. "I was hoping Thor would be the exception."

"Yeah, give him time." Stark stated simply. "We don't know what the Maximoff kid showed him—"

"Wanda," Darcy said quietly.

"Huh?"

"Her name… It's Wanda."

"Oh… Ok?"

The Captain chuckled humorlessly as he continued to chop wood. "'Earth's Mightiest Heroes'… And she pulled us apart like cotton candy."

"She didn't do anything to Darcy over here." Stark said, jabbing his thumb in her direction. "And from what Barton said, she and her brother—"

"Pietro," Darcy interrupted. Much to Stark's annoyance.

"Right… Well, she had every opportunity to… And she didn't do anything to our favorite little Nerd girl. Wonder why that is?"

Darcy nervously bit her bottom lip and glanced anywhere but at the Captain or Stark. "I… I-I'm don't know…"

But Loki knew. He knew and so did she. Wanda Maximoff had every opportunity to show Darcy Lewis her greatest fear or worst memory, but she didn't. And it had something to do with Darcy's father and how she seemed to be "hurting" as the twins apparently were.

The Maximoffs had shown Darcy mercy, something that they didn't have to show her, but did. And the girl was still left reeling on why the witch did what she did.

All because of something to do with Darcy's father.

"And it also seems like you walked away alright." Stark told the Captain.

After said man split another hunk of wood in two, he fixed Stark with a hard stare. "Is that a problem?"

"I don't trust a guy without a dark side." Stark shrugged. "Call me old fashioned."

The Captain frowned and went back to chopping wood. "Well, let's just say you haven't seen it yet."

"I just can't picture you with a dark side," Darcy laughed uneasily, trying to break the growing tension.

"You know Ultron's trying to tear us apart right?" Stark asked, ignoring Darcy's comment.

"Well, I guess you know." With a grunt of effort, another piece of wood was split in two. "Whether you'd tell us is a bit of a question."

"Banner, Darcy, and I were doing research—"

"That would affect the team?" The Captain asked harshly as he split another piece of wood.

"That would _end_ the team." Stark bit out, equally as harsh as the Captain split more wood. "Isn't that the mission? Isn't that the 'why' we fight? So we get to end the fight and go home?"

The Captain then split another piece of wood with his bare hands. The action—one speaking volumes in anger and frustrations—startled Darcy enough to make her step back slightly. Loki figured she was not used to the Captain, of all people, showing anger this way.

"Everytime someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die." The Captain told Stark. "Every. _Time_."

As the two men glared at each other, Darcy stood behind them. Eyes wide and gaping like a fish out of water. Wanting to say something, but having no words to say.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, uh, Clint said you wouldn't mind, but our tractor doesn't want to seem to start at all." Darcy glanced at the woman, though she wasn't sure if the woman came up to help her or not, mouthed a quick 'Thank you'. "I thought maybe you could…"

Stark exhaled. "Yeah… Lewis and I can give it a kick." As he left, he told the Captain "Don't take from my pile!" which was considerably smaller in size. He walked leisurely away from the three, Darcy stayed behind for a moment. Glancing nervously between Stark's retreating form and the Captain. Said man eventually frowned and went back to splitting wood, leaving Darcy to frown as she jogged to catch up with Stark.

The tension was still thick and ever-present as Darcy and Stark neared the barn that housed the "tractor". Loki noticed that Darcy seemed to fidget slightly as she walked, glancing uncertainly at Stark, who was silently scowling next to her. Finally, as the two approached the barn, Darcy said "I'm not one for kicking anything… Unless it's the Steve's ass at _Mario Kart_."

That earned a small laugh from Stark. As the two strolled into the barn, Loki noticed Darcy sigh in relief. Loki nodded, admittedly impressed with her ability to diffuse that situation.

The girl let out a low whistle. "John Deere, eh? I took him for a Kubota tractor kinda guy."

"I'm not even going to ask how you know that's a thing." Stark eyed the girl as they approached the tractor.

Darcy smiled as she climbed onto the tractor. "Hey, Stark, guess who." She pulled her face into one of mock-seriousness but somehow scowled. "Grrr, I'm grumpy because I have an arrow up my ass." Stark smiled as the girl pretended to drive the tractor. "I'd kill all these aliens but my tractor won't run and I'm just the idiot who brought a bow and arrow to a gun fight."

Stark chuckled a bit. "You ever considered being a comedian?"

"Why? I'm paid enough as it is—oh, wait no I'm not!" The girl threw an overemphasized glare at the Iron Man before they both laughed.

Stark stepped closer and checked the exterior of the machine. "Hello Deere," he muttered, "what can I do for you?"

"Do me a favor, try not to bring it to life." A new voice called out from the back of the barn. Loki peered towards the back, spotting Director Nick Fury walking towards the two. He looked older than when Loki last saw him face-to-face. Then again, the man had faked his death, come back long enough to flush out HYDRA (and subsequently, destroy S.H.I.E.L.D), before going back to playing dead.

Darcy laughed dryly for a moment before sizing the man up (which was a feat itself, in its own way) before saying "Director Nick _Mother-fuckin'_ Fury… I was wondering when you showed up."

The Man looked at her with a raised brow. "Miss Darcy Lewis, I know for a fact that you know my middle name."

"I do, but I like my version. Its suits you." Darcy smirked as Fury rolled his one last eye.

Stark, who hadn't turned around, shook his head slightly. "Ah, Mrs. Barton, you little minx." Turning, he approached the older man. "I get it, Maria Hill called you in. Was she ever _not_ working for you?"

Fury just exhaled, suddenly looking tired. "Artificial Intelligence… You never even hesitated. And you just so happened to drag in an innocent." He nodded in Darcy's direction.

It was her turn to raise a brow. "Innocent?"

"As innocent as anyone can get in this situation." Fury corrected.

"Look, it's been a really long day," Stark said. "Like, Eugene O'Neil long. So, how's about we skip to the part where your useful?"

"Look me in the eye and tell me you're going to shut him down." Fury said, once again the director Loki remembered from his time on Midgard.

"You're not the director of me." Stark said.

"I'm not the Director of anyone." Fury admitted, sitting down on a bale of hay. "I'm just an old man that care very much about the lot of you."

"And I'm the guy that killed the Avengers." Stark said. Earning him a confused/concerned look from Darcy and an expectant look from Fury. "I saw it. I didn't tell the team—how could I?"

"Tony, what're you talking about?" Darcy asked.

"I saw them all dead, Nick. All of them… Steve, Natasha, Banner, Thor, Barton, hell I even saw Darcy!" This made the girl gasp and Fury glanced at her briefly as Stark continued. "Darcy, whose not supposed to be anywhere near the fight and is supposed to stay in her little corner of Avengers Tower, helping us from behind the scenes… Her and the others… All of them dead. I saw it, felt it. The whole world, too… All because of me. I wasn't ready… I didn't do all I could…"

"That's why you froze up… In Sokovia. Wanda, she… She showed you…" Darcy trailed off uncertainly.

"The Maximoff girl, she's working you, Stark. Playing on your fear," Fury told him.

"I wasn't _tricked_ , I was _shown_!" Stark told them. "It wasn't a nightmare… It was my legacy. The end of the path I started us on."

"You've come up with some pretty impressive inventions, Tony." Loki respectfully disagreed with the man. What Stark was known for creating was metal suits, heroes, the constant need for a drink, and most recently, Ultron. "But war is not one of them."

"I watched all my friends die. You think that be as bad as it gets, right?" Stark scoffed. "Nope. Wasn't the worst part. The worst part… Is that you didn't."

The three just sat—or stood, in Stark's case—in silence that seemed to stretch on forever. Finally, Fury cleared his throat. "If it's all the same to you, I liked to borrow Miss Lewis for a moment."

As Darcy's eyes widened in surprise, Stark nodded. Fury walked past Stark to help the girl down from the tractor. As the two walked out, Darcy gave Stark a quick hug on the way out, and when she received a questioning look for it, she simply said "You needed it." And walked out with Fury, leaving Stark to his thoughts

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Loki watched as Darcy led Fury to the room Barton and his family had given her. "Well, here it is." Darcy said unenthusiastically as she opened the door to the room. "Room sweet room."

Fury closed the door behind him as Darcy sat down on the edge of the bed. "Sorry I couldn't come to your funeral, by the way."

Fury fixed her with a hard glare. "What the _hell_ are you doing here, Lewis?!"

 _Fuuuuuuuuck, I forgot how intimidating he is,_ Darcy thought. "Pardon?"

"I agree with Stark." Fury told her sternly. "You are supposed to be behind the scenes, helping them like JARVIS would."

Loki figured out rather quickly that if Fury agreed with something Stark said, things were in a dire circumstance.

Darcy frowned. "Excuse me, Nick, but since this is about forty percent my fault, I want to help too."

"What's about forty percent your fault?"

Darcy paused for a moment, "Ultron… All of this… I hate to admit it, but Wanda was right."

Fury raised a brow. "Wanda? Wanda Maximoff?" Darcy nodded. "What was Wanda right about?"

"I'm… I'm not special. I don't have any above average intelligence like Jane or Tony or Bruce, I don't have powers like Thor, and I am as good of a spy as Jane Foster would a cook!"

Fury chuckled a bit, Darcy glanced at him in confusion and surprise. Loki found it a bit odd as well. The God of Lies didn't take Fury as one to express… emotions so plainly. _He's laughing?_ Darcy wonder. _Who are you and what have you done with Nick Fury?_ Darcy would've voiced such thoughts if Fury didn't sit down next to her before she could.

"Why did you start working for Stark?"

"I needed the money." It wasn't entirely a lie, working as an unpaid intern for Jane had left zero to none of her student debt paid off. Free lodging at Avengers Tower and food provided for her was just icing on the proverbial cake.

"You have negative one hundred dollars in your bank account."

"Is there anything you don't know, Fury? Is there?" Fury chuckled.

"Why did you _really_ start working for Stark?"

"I dunno… I guess I just liked the idea of working with super heroes… Helping protect humanity."

"And why do you feel that way?"

Darcy shrugged. "Cause it's the right thing to do."

"Why do you feel it's the right thing to do?"

"What the hell is this, twenty questions? Because… It's the right thing to do. That's that. Why sit in the lap of luxury when there are people struggling to get by. And now that Ultron's out there… I just can't sit by."

Fury fixed Darcy with a hard stare. "Why?"

"Wouldn't that be pretty selfish and low for me to not help my friends when this is partially my fault? I wouldn't be doing the right thing to do…"

Loki noticed Fury smiled a bit at what the girl said. The God frowned. _What did she say?_ He wondered as Fury stood.

"I just needed to make sure of something, Miss Lewis." He made to leave but paused before he left and glanced at the girl over his shoulder. "You do a lot more for this team then you realize, you hacked HYDRA for fuck's sake. And you being here… That's pretty brave."

"Well, sometimes stupidity and bravery tend to walk hand in hand." Darcy cracked a smile.

"Yeah, suppose sometimes they do…" Fury said, exiting the room. As he left, Loki noticed a peculiar look on his face. A knowing look, like he just found something.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

After dinner, Fury had gathered the remaining Avengers and Darcy into Barton's kitchen to discuss Ultron. Loki had stayed under the pretense that it promised to be interesting, and he wasn't disappointed.

"Ultron took you all out to play to buy himself some time." Fury told them, His voice a bit lower than usual, a quick glance told Loki that Barton's family was in the next room, mother and son watching the news and the girl scribbling away with a colored wax stick on a piece of paper. "My contacts say he's building something."

"I got a D minus in a majority of my math classes growing up, but with all that Vibranium he made off with… Don't think it's just one thing." Darcy said carefully, still tapping away at her beloved little iPhone.

"What about Ultron himself?" The Captain asked.

"Ah. He's easy to track, he's everywhere. Guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit." While Darcy at Fury's comment, Barton frowned.

"Still doesn't get us an angle on any of his plans, though." Loki watched as Barton's daughter stood up and grabbed two pieces of paper she had been scribbling on and all but skipped into the kitchen. The child proudly presented a crudely drawn picture of a butterfly to the Spider, who smiled and hugged the girl close as a thank you.

"He still going after launch codes?" Banner asked.

"Yes he is, but he's not making any headway." Fury replied. Loki noticed the child whispering something into the Spider's ear, pointing at the piece of paper and glancing over at Darcy. _Odd_ , he thought.

"I cracked the Pentagon firewall, in high school, on a _dare_." Stark said.

"What? Disappointed that junior can't crack a few missile codes?" Darcy asked. Both Barton and Stark sent her a warning look.

"Yeah, well, I contacted our friends at NEXUS about that," Fury started.

"NEXUS?" The Captain asked. Loki glanced back at the Spider to see her smile encouragingly at the girl before giving her a gentle push towards Darcy.

"The world internet Hub in Oslo located in Norway." The Spider explained.

"Every bite of data flows through, fastest access on Earth." Banner added.

"So what'd they say?" The Spider asked as the girl approached Darcy. Barton's daughter glanced at her own feet shyly before handing her the paper, uttering a quiet "I made this for you…"

Darcy smiled and grabbed the paper. Her smile grew when she saw that the girl had drawn for her, a rather crude in Loki's opinion, picture of a field of followers. "Aw, Lila, I love it! Thank you." Darcy hugged the young girl, who smiled. Happy her gift was loved.

"He's fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed." Fury told them.

"By whom?" Barton asked.

"Party unknown."

"We have an ally?" Stark asked.

"Ultron's got an enemy, that's not the same thing."

"Any enemy of Ultron is a friend of mine." Darcy chimed in as Barton's daughter made herself comfortable on her lap.

"Still, I'd pay folding money to find out who it is." Stark suddenly looked thoughtful. "I might need to visit Oslo. Find our 'unknown'."

"Well, this is times, boss-man," Darcy stated, "but I was kinda hoping, when I saw you... you'd have more than that."

"I do," Fury said gazing at the remaining heroes, "I have all of you." All the Avenger's (those remaining anyway) eyes, along with Darcy's eyes and even Barton's daughter, fell on Fury. "Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else, and you kids had all the tech you could dream of… Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world. Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing standing between him and his mission, and whether or not he admits it, his mission is Global Destruction… All this, laid in a grave. So stand… Outwit the platinum bastard."

"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk." The Spider responded almost immediately, her infamous smirk in place.

"You know what, Romanoff?" The Captain asked, trying to sound angry but not able to keep a straight face surrounded by everyone's laughter. Loki merely rolled his eyes at the group.

"So what does he want?" Barton asked.

"To become better… Better than us." Stark said.

"He keeps building bodies… _Person_ bodies. The human form is inefficient, biologically speaking, we're outmoded." Banner explained.

"But he keeps coming back to it… Why?" Darcy wondered aloud.

"When you three programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed." The Spider told Stark, Darcy, and Banner.

Darcy shrugged. "No argument here."

"They don't need to be protected, they need to… _evolve_." Stark said, a sour expression on his face, no doubt remembering Ultron's words.

"Ultron's going to evolve." The Captain said.

"Called it!" Darcy stated, ignoring the looks Stark, Fury, and the Spider sent her.

"How?" Barton asked.

"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?" Stark asked.

Everything seemed to click in then, Loki noticed. The God then remembered Dr. Cho's cradle. It had create a tissue of sorts. Enough tissue for Barton to walk away from a rather severe injury without as much as a scratch.

" _Vibranium"… "He keeps building bodies"… "Dr. Cho's cradle"… "Person bodies"… "All that Vibranium"... "The human form is inefficient, biologically speaking, we're outmoded"… "Don't think it's just one thing"…_ Loki's eyes widened slightly in realization.

Ultron was making itself a more human-esque body.

Apparently, realization dawned on Darcy Lewis as well. She exhaled loudly before whispering " _Bozhe_ _moi_ …" Loki noticed the Spider nod at the girl, half-smirk in place. Whether she was impressed or nodding in approval, he couldn't tell.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"I'll take Natasha and Clint." The Captain said.

"Alright, Strictly recon." Barton said.

"I'll hit the NEXUS." Stark added. Loki saw Darcy push past him, stuffing her iPhone's charger into her coat pocket. It was by some unspoken agreement that Darcy Lewis stay as far away from the next "meeting" with Ultron as possible and if it could be avoided. Though she protested, Fury had ultimately decided for her that it could be avoided. "I'll join you all as soon as I can."

"If Ultron really is building a body… He'll be more powerful than any of us. Maybe all of us." The Captain said.

"An android designed by a robot…" Darcy mused. "There's a paradox in there somewhere, but I'll be dammed it I know where."

"Language," Barton told her, smiling at the annoyed expression on the Captain's face.

"You know, I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was me…" Banner said, smiling humorlessly. Darcy smiled sympathetically and gave his arm a friendly squeeze.

"I'll drop Banner and Lewis off at the Tower. Do you mind if I borrow Ms. Hill?" Fury asked.

Stark nodded. "She's all yours, apparently. What are you gonna do?"

"I don't know." Fury said as straight-face as possible. "Something dramatic, I hope."

The former Director than led Banner and Darcy out of the farmhouse (Darcy shouting "Bye Lila! Bye Cooper! Bye Laura! By Seneca Crane!" the latter garnering not only her odd looks but Barton's wife, who was laughing at the whole absurdity of it all) and toward the barn.

Instead of heading into the barn, Fury made a turn just left of the barn and led the two to the woods on the outskirts of the farm. After a few moments of trudging through the foliage in silence, the three arrived at a smaller quinjet.

"Huh," Banner said upon seeing the small craft.

"How 'bout that?" Darcy added.

Fury smirked slightly as he strolled over to the craft, pushing a button near the hatch, allowing for the entrance ramp to pop open. "Ladies first," He gestured for Darcy to step into the quinjet and allowed for Banner to enter before himself.

After a few minutes of flight prep and Darcy asking if she can fly this back to New York (met with sharp and rather insistent "No!'s" from both men, causing the girl to sulk into her seat, pouting while mumbling something along the lines of "Party poopers…") the trio was off.

About ten minutes into the flight, Darcy glanced out the window. "It was nice of Clint to let us stay there and all, but I'm glad to be going back. I'm not a 'nature' person."

"Who you?" Banner asked, feigning disbelief. "I always took you for a hardworking farm girl."

"Yeah, F you to, Banner." Loki figured the girl was only half-joking. After a few more minutes of silence before Darcy turned toward Fury. "You really planning something dramatic?"

"I'd hope I was." Fury replied evenly.

Darcy frowned, seemingly pondering her next question. "What do you even need Hill for anyway?"

Fury smiled a bit at this. "Miss Lewis, you hacked into most of S.H.I.E.L.D's more _'secure'_ files, am I correct?"

"Depends… You asking as NickFury or _Director_ Nick Fury?"

Fury's smile slowly grew into a smirk. "Darcy… How familiar are you with the Theta Protocol?"

Loki watched as Darcy's eyes widened and her mouth hung open slightly as she starred at the former director with a mix of apprehension and amazement. It was clear the girl knew what the "Theta Protocol" was, she was probably not expecting that to be Fury's answer.

"Y'know, Fury… You both amazed and scare me at times."

"Just doing my job, Lewis." Fury responded. "Just doing my job."

Loki could admit there was some amusement to watching Banner and Darcy exchange somewhat uneasy/impressed glances as Fury continued to pilot them towards Avengers Tower.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 **8,293 words and twenty pages. I honestly don't know how this got so long… No regrets though.**

 **First of all; that scene where Fury came in was inspired by what happened when me and a friend watched the movie for the first time. I basically quoted what Darcy said and my friend just kinda leaned over and whispered "You saw** _ **Winter Soldier**_ **. You know that's not his real name." and I just told her "I refuse to believe otherwise."**

 **Secondly; I apologize for the wait, I have no excuse other than laziness. Also, next chapter might take some time as well. See, the family computer has a rather large crack in the screen and my parents are taking it to some place to fix it. It shouldn't take too long, we're just waiting for the right part. So, hopefully this should hold you over until later.**

 **Thirdly; I saw Antman. It was awesome and hilarious and if you haven't seen it, you should. Now, concerning a few things about that movie. As for the final end credit scene (I won't spoil it, but those who have seen the movie know what I'm talking about), let's just pretend that particular scene never happened in reference to this story. And I will reference Antman in this story, but it won't be until later, but I will tweak a few aspects to make sure it will still go with this story. Cool? Cool.**

 **Finally; we are** _ **literally**_ **three chapters away from finishing the Age of Ultron arc. So, yay.**

 **Now, the more reviews I get, the quicker you'll get the next chapter. And I think you guys might want that to happen, considering what comes next. *wink wink***


	5. 4: The Vision

**Happy Labor Day!**

 **I'm not gonna lie, This chapter—especially the first part—was hard to write, due to the fact that I don't remember exactly how the Battle of Seoul went down. Tried my best and mainly just winged most of it. So enjoy.**

 **Also, I starting tomorrow I go back to school but I will update as frequently as possible because I love this story.**

 **Disclaimer: *to the tune of** _ **Part of Your World**_ *** Look at this fic, isn't neat? Wouldn't you think my collections complete? Wouldn't you think I'm the writer…? The writer who owns everything? *record scratch* But I don't.**

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Loki, as an unassuming guard, raised his brow at Darcy Lewis.

Here she was, safely tucked away in Avengers Tower and what was she doing? Monitoring the Captain, Barton, and the Spider's mission to confront Ultron.

 _Mortals_ , he thought disgustedly, _they place themselves in such high danger Ultron will soon not have to worry about their extinction._

"Awesomesauce to Hunger Games. Do you copy?" Darcy spoke into her little communicator, typing away at her little computer.

" _I'm not sure what annoys me more,"_ Loki heard Barton's voice through the communicator, _"The fact that you insisted on codenames, or that you used_ that _for your codename."_

"Dude, I insisted on codenames for the exact purpose of using Awesomesauce as mine." Darcy smirked a bit, laughing.

" _Why do we put up with you again?"_ Barton asked.

" _The coffee, remember?"_ The Spider spoke up.

"Thanks, Carrot Top!" Darcy smiled.

" _Seriously?"_ Loki could only imagine the look on the Spider's face.

" _Focus you three."_ The Captain's stern voice broke through. _"Darcy, you have a lead on Ultron?"_

"First of all, Cappuccino; it's Awesomesauce." Loki heard the Captain and Barton groan. He wasn't sure if it was due to her codename or the one she gave to the Captain. "And two; I've got something. Vague on details and not reliable."

" _Give it to us anyway."_ The Captain told her.

"Intel says that Ultron _did_ arrive in Seoul, but he has not been spotted. However, there was a security camera that caught a blur of blue and silver."

" _The Maximoffs."_ The Spider said grimly.

"Sonic the Hedgehog and Hocus Pocus are still with Ultron… And it seems you guys are heading in the right direction…" The God noticed how the girl cringed regretfully.

Curious, Loki shifted his gaze around Midgard until he spotted the three heroes. His brow furrowed as he saw they were heading in the direction of a lab. Casting his gaze just a bit forward, he saw Ultron, the Maximoff twins, and Dr. Helen Cho all sitting in a lab around the casket. Loki noticed that there seemed to be something inside the cradle.

 _Ultron's final form._ He remembered.

Then, that's when the God noticed something… off about Dr. Cho. Her eyes…

When he had last been to Midgard, he had noticed that while in the retrospect of things, they were all the same, but he noticed that certain areas of the realm held more… distinctive qualities than others.

For example; the nation of Wakanda and others like it usually had darker features, the countries called Scotland and Ireland usually had their fair share of people with an orange-ish hair color, and the nation of Seoul where Dr. Cho was from, their people usually had dark hair, and smaller eyes with usually darker colors.

The doctor's eyes now were a bright blue. A blue Loki remembers all too well. The blue tint to the eyes that suggested she was under the Scepter's influence.

Perhaps Loki should give more credit to the machine. It was more resourceful than the God gave it credit for.

"Cellular cohesion will take a few hours, but we can initiate a consciousness stream." Dr. Cho stated, Loki noticed Ultron seemed to be hooked up to the, er, 'body' in the cradle. "We're uploading your cerebral matrix… now."

The Twins stood off to the side as Dr. Cho uploaded Ultron's "brain" into the body in the cradle. The Witch looked at the cradle with awed amazement. "I can read him… He's dreaming…"

As her brother came to stand behind her, ready to move in case she needed help, Dr. Cho spoke "I wouldn't call it 'dreams'. It's Ultron's base consciousness." She waved a dismissal hand. "Infernal noise. Soon—"

"How soon?" Ultron questioned. "I'm not being pushy."

"We're imprinting a physical brain, there are no shortcuts. Even if you imagined…" As the doctor spoke, the witch stepped up to the cradle. Her eyes lit red as she twisted her hands. A red energy flowed out of her and into the cradle. Loki noticed that for a moment, the girl seemed confused, but soon her confusion was replaced with horror.

The witch screamed and leapt back from the cradle, her brother catching her and offering her words of comfort, asking what was wrong. Wanda shook her head, hand hovering over her mouth in fear. "He…" She fixed the machine with a hard glare, betrayal and fear swimming in her eyes. "How could you?"

"How could I what?" Ultron asked; Loki wasn't sure if the machine knew what the witch had saw or was just feigning innocence.

"You said we would destroy the Avengers!" The girl paused as she exhaled. "Create a better world."

"It will be better."

"When everyone is _dead_?!" The boy looked at his sister, shocked, before finally glaring at Ultron.

"That is not…!" Ultron seemed to be struggling with the words. "The human race will have every opportunity to improve."

"And if they don't?" The boy asked.

Ultron shrugged and cracked a tiny 'smile', "Ask Noah."

The twin's eyes widened. Wanda eyeing Ultron, "Darcy Lewis was right… She was right after all…"

"You're a madman." Pietro stated.

" _Darcy Lewis_?" Ultron asked. "What does she have to with any of this? She is lowly, unimportant, all but nothing… She's the Avenger's _secretary_ for God's sake!"

"She had you pegged from the start of all this." Wanda said.

"I'd say that's worth something, isn't it?" Pietro asked. "She said you were going to destroy humanity, and she was right." As her brother spoke, Loki noticed the witch's hands slowly twist, a red aura of energy floated from her to Dr. Cho. The woman blinked and the blue film indicating the scepter's control on her seemed to vanish. The God nodded, _Impressive_.

"There were more than a dozen extinction level events before the dinosaurs got theirs." Ultron pointed out. "When the Earth starts to settle, God throws a stone at it. And believe me… He's winding up. We have to evolve. There is no room for the weak."

"And who decides who is weak?" The witch asks.

"Life… Life always decides." Ultron seems to pause for a moment before 'scowling'. "There's an incoming. The Quinjet. We need to move!"

"That's not a problem." The boy said coldly before hoisting his sister into is arms before dashing away. Leaving a rather furious Ultron behind.

"Uh, wait, guys! I… They don't understand! When they see, they'll understand. I just need a little more… time." It seemed to the God that the machine was trying to convince itself than vent. The machine 'glowered'. "You know, Helen, it's a damn shame that little Darcy got mixed up in all this. I might need to have a word with…" The machine turned it's 'head' and saw the woman trying to sneak away.

In a flash, one of Ultron's sentries stabbed the woman through the stomach. Loki was reminded of what he did to the Son of Coul for a brief moment, but the memory was quickly snuffed out by Ultron commanding his sentries to start moving everything.

Glancing outside, he saw the Captain, the Spider, and Barton approaching Cho's lab. _"Uh, Awesomesauce to whoever is listening. I just saw Sonic the Douchehog—forgive my language, Cap!—and Hocus Pocus just… uh,_ zoom _out of the lab."_

"Are we still doing the whole codename thing?" Barton asked, incredulous. Back at the Tower, Darcy rolled her eyes. _Priorities, Katniss. Seriously._

"What direction did they go in?" The Spider asked.

Loki didn't need to glance back at the Tower to know the Spider had given Darcy a question that she didn't know the answer to. _"Uh… They went… um… Weast?"_

"Weast?" The Captain questioned.

Barton deadpanned before responding "If you just referenced _Spongebob Squarepants_ , I'm gonna kick your ass."

" _You know who I am, Hunger Games!"_ As Barton sighed and shook his head, Darcy told everyone _"Two minute everyone, stay close."_

It happened rather quickly, first Ultron had escaped with the cradle in tow (how the machine remained connected to the other machine is a mystery to him). Then the Captain had broken (quite literally) into Cho's lab, he tried to assist the woman, but she just said told him of Ultron's plan ,explaining that he had to get the cradle to Stark, and added "The real power… It's in the gem." Before telling him to go. Albeit reluctantly, the Captain left.

"Did you guys copy that?"

" _Eeyup!"_

"We did."

"What'd you got, Darcy?"

" _Um… I got a private jet taking off across town. No manifest, could be him?"_

"There." Barton glanced down at a nearby road. "It's the truck from the lab. Right above you, Cap. On the loop, by the bridge"

"Darcy?"

" _It's them. I got three with the cradle, one in the cab."_ Loki wondered briefly how she was able to access all this information with just one little piece of technology.

Then again, she hacked into the quinjet with her little portable. So Loki couldn't say he was that surprised.

"I could take out the driver." The Captain suggested.

"No _!"_ Loki was a bit surprised by the mortal's insistence. _"I don't really know_ what _that gem is, but if it has as much power as Thor says it does… If that truck crashes if could level the whole town."_

 _She is not wrong_ , Loki admitted to himself. _Though she does downgrade the gem's power by a substantial amount._

"So what'd you suggest he do?" The Spider asked.

" _Draw out Ultron."_ Darcy rolled her eyes as she was met by silence from her comrades. _"Well it's not like it's the stupidest thing you all have done."_

"Got us there." Barton mumbled.

So, that it was the Captain did as Darcy suggested. Eventually landing on the top of the truck Ultron escaped in. Said machine did not take it very well.

"No, no, no, no, no!" The machine cried as the Captain fought his way through Ultron's robot sentients. "Just leave me alone!"

Loki's brows furrowed. _Sounds more like a whining child than a machine… Then again…_

Ultron eventually shook the Captain off of the vehicle. "Well, he's definitely unhappy."

" _Is that what that was?"_ Darcy asked. It didn't take long for the God to figure out what she was referring to.

"I'm going to try and keep him that way."

"You're not a match for him, Cap." Barton told him.

"Thanks, Barton!" Loki had never heard the Captain sound so sarcastic.

The Captain had eventually caught up to the vehicle and fought his way, once again, through Ultron's machine men, making his way to the top of the vehicle. Ultron itself eventually stepped into the battle, seeing as how it had no more machine-men to fight with, save for the one now driving the vehicle.

"What's in the cradle?" The Captain asked Ultron harshly.

"The power to make a real change." Ultron 'smiled' knowingly. "And that terrifies you."

"I wouldn't call it a comfort."

The Captain threw his shield at Ultron's 'head', it bounced back and landed in the Captain's arms. Ultron lunged for him, the Captain dodged before thrusting his elbow into the machine's 'chin'. It shoved the Captain to the ground (ground being top of the vehicle) and punched him in the face. With a grunt of effort, The Captain kicked Ultron off of him before strapping his shield to his arm and punching Ultron in the face… Repeatedly.

The Captain threw a punch at the machine, only for Ultron to catch his arm. The machine used the opportunity to thrust its 'elbow' into the man's face. The Captain is able to twist himself free just in time for Ultron to deliver a swift punch to the side of his face.

" _Uh-oh,"_ Loki hears Darcy's voice in the communicators once again.

"'Uh-oh'?" Barton asks. "What does that mean?"

" _One of you better get out there and help Steve, he's not looking so good."_ Loki glanced and saw the Spider mounting a motorbike.

"You ready, Nat?" Barton asked.

"As I'll ever be."

"Darcy, we clear?"

" _I can give you a minute but that's about it."_

Loki watched as the archer lowered the quinjet. "We got a window. Five, four, three, two… Give 'em hell!" The Spider dropped from the quinjet on the motorbike. Revving the engine, she sped to catch up to the Captain and Ultron.

" _Language!"_ Loki rolled his eyes at that. He had a feeling that joke would never die down…

"Seriously, Darcy?" The Captain asked as he dodged another one of Ultron's punches.

"There's that name again." Ultron 'frowned'. "What does that pathetic little coffee girl have to do with any of this?"

" _What did he just call me?!"_ Darcy demanded angrily. Loki found it a bit ironic, seeing as how she often referred to herself as no more than what the machine just said.

"Not now, Lewis." Barton told her as the Spider zoomed by underneath him.

" _It's Awesomesauce."_

Loki couldn't tell if the Captain rolled his eyes at that statement or not due to the fact that Ultron shoved him rather hard, causing him to drop his shield. The Captain scowled at the machine before punching it square in the 'jaw'. Ultron stumbled back, allowing for the Captain to kick it in the 'chest'.

"Am I always picking up after you boys?" The Spider asked, bending down and scooping up the shield as she zoomed by.

" _I'm not touching that one."_ Loki could practically hear Darcy smirk.

The Captain and Ultron continued to struggle on top of the vehicle. Both stumbled as it made a sudden turn, the Captain nearly fell off but pulled himself back onto the truck in time to dodge Ultron's next attack.

"They're heading under the overpass. I've got no shot!" Barton said.

"Darcy, which way?" The Spider called out.

" _Hard right… Now!"_ At her little friend's order, the spider turned her motorbike sharply, nearly skidding to a crash.

"Coming through, sorry! Coming through!" The Spider called as she zoomed through the narrow paths between other vehicles.

The Spider glanced to her left and said something in a language Loki didn't understand. "Clint, can you take out the guards?" Loki followed her gaze and saw more of Ultron's sentries making their way toward the vehicle

"Let's find out." Barton smirked as he shot down the sentries with ease.

The Spider eventually caught up with the Captain. "Beep, beep!" She shouted as she tossed him his shield.

" _Did you just…?"_

"I have my moments, Darcy."

He heard Darcy laugh. _"Alright… why the heck not?"_

As the Spider slowed down to pull behind the vehicle the Captain and Ultron were fighting on, Loki glanced down and saw what appeared to be a type of law enforcement seemed to be pulling closer.

"Darcy, you seeing this?"

" _Wow, the local police took a lot longer to show up then I thought they would."_ Evidently she had seen them.

One man, who seemed to be the head of law enforcement, started speaking in a language Loki didn't recognize. The archer raised a brow. "Can you hear them?"

" _Yeah?"_

"What're they saying?"

" _I can barely speak English, Katniss. The hell makes you think I speak Korean?"_

Loki heard the Captain grunt in effort as he struggled to keep Ultron's fist from colliding with his stomach. As he summoned an extra ounce of strength and shoved the machine away, the Captain caught a glimpse of something shiny on a nearby train. Taking advantage of the Captain's distraction, Ultron kicked him in the side, sending the man flying to the aforementioned train. Ultron jumped after him, driving its 'fist' into the Captain's chest, sending both of them through the roof of the moving train.

" _They're heading back, Carrot Top."_ Darcy informed. _"Whatever you're planning on doing, you might want to do it now."_

The Spider nodded, though Darcy couldn't see it ( _Then again,_ Loki thought _, she just might_ ). "I'm going in. Cap, can you keep him busy?"

"What do you think I've been doing?" The Captain asked incredulous, dodging Ultron's kick.

The Spider frowned in concentration as she sped up. Quick as a cat, she grabbed onto the handle and opened the door to the back of the vehicle and yanked it open, Motorbike long forgotten, she lunged into the inside and took down the last remaining sentry before securing the cradle down.

Just as she did so, Loki noticed a jet plane lowering and the claw attaching itself to the back of the vehicle.

" _Found the jet."_ Darcy announced, voice wavering.

The jet began to take off, with the Spider inside. "The package is airborne." Barton announced. "I have a clean shot—"

"Negative! I'm still in the truck!" The Spider said hastily.

"What the hell are you…?"

"Just be ready, I'm sending the package to you."

"How do you want me to receive it?"

"Uh, you might wish you hadn't asked that."

Loki heard Darcy gasp just as he saw a blur of blue and silver move toward the train the Captain and Ultron were on. _Quicksilver_. He saw a brown haired girl near the Captain and saw how a red aura just seemed to radiate from her. _The Scarlet Witch._

The witch had Ultron cornered. It looked at its older allies, "Please, don't do this."

"We have no choice." The Witch said before blasting him back with her energy. As it landed in the next car, the car that seems to have the trains' controls in it, Ultron glanced back and scowled at the twins before marching up to the man at the controls. Ultron slit the man's throat before flying off. Quicksilver tried to go after him, but (surprisingly) could not catch up.

"I lost him." He said dejectedly.

"Darcy?" The Captain asked.

" _Hang on!"_ Loki could all but hear her typing away furiously at her little keyboard. _"Natasha he's heading back your way!"_

"Nat, we gotta go!" Barton shouted.

"Clint!" The Spider called out. "Darcy, the package is ready to be delivered!"

" _Like hell it is! You're still in there,"_

"Clint, be ready." The Spider said, bracing herself to push the cradle out of the back.

"Darcy?" Barton asked uncertainly.

" _Shit on a shingle, she's serious. Get ready, Hunger Games. Package is being delivered."_ No sooner had the girl said that then did Barton turn the quinjet around. Once the quinjet had backed itself up enough, the Spider shoved the cradle out and it crashed into the quinjet. Ultron blasted itself up and closed the door to the back of the vehicle before taking off, trapping the Spider inside.

" _Natasha? Natasha!"_ Darcy hollered.

"Tell Bruce I'm sorry, alright Lewis?" The Spider said.

" _No, no, no, no! Natasha!"_

"Cap, you see Nat?" Barton asked.

"If you have the package, get it to Stark. Go!"

"Do you have eyes on Nat?"

"Go!"

Reluctantly, Barton nodded and turned the quinjet around once again, Flying away from Seoul and back toward Avengers Tower.

" _Steve, what about Natasha?"_ Darcy asked.

" _What about Natasha?"_ Glancing back at the Tower, Loki saw Darcy turn in time to see Banner enter the room with a bottle of water in hand.

Darcy blanched and frowned uncertainly. Placing a finger to her ear she muttered "Gotta go, talk to you boys later," before ripping the communicator away from her ear and closing her little laptop down.

"Is everything ok? What's going on with Nat?" Banner was starting to grow worried.

Darcy slowly approached her friend and set the bottle of water down on the couch before taking her friend's hands and saying "Bruce… Ultron took Nat."

Banner blinked. "W-What…?"

"Nat was able to get the cradle to Barton… But she was kidnapped in the process. She… She's sorry…" Banner stepped back and Darcy looked at her friend worriedly. "Bruce it was the only way. Ultron would've gotten away and—"

Banner turned around and held up a one finger to Darcy as he took a few deep breaths. Loki narrowed his eyes and noticed his skin looked slightly… greener than they did a while ago.

"I… I'm fine. I just… I'll be back." Banner said hastily as he left. Darcy called after him but he was out the door before she could do much else.

The girl's shoulders slumped and she frowned, she look tired and… Loki wasn't quite sure but… _Was that… Anger?_ The God of lies could only ever recall seeing Darcy angry once. When the witch had spoken of Darcy's father. And even that wasn't anger, it was more of a bitter resentment.

Loki watched as Darcy turned and looked at her computer uncertainly for a moment, before smirking. The God raised a brow. _What is she…?_

Darcy opened up her laptop again before cracking her knuckles. "Alright, Robot Boy. You hide, I seek."

Loki starred at her in confusion for a moment before his eyes widened in surprise. _She's going to track down Ultron!_

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Loki couldn't believe it. Darcy Lewis was willingly trying to track down Ultron. Of all the idiotic and utterly foolish things a Midgardian had ever done, this had to take the cake.

Ultron had already proven itself a very worthy and deadly adversary to the Avengers and whoever choose to side with them, Darcy had witnessed this destruction firsthand when Ultron first made himself known to the Avengers. It was dark, vicious, and determined to destroy the Avengers then and had given them a good beating—and that was when it was at its weakest!

Yet here she was; typing away furiously at the keyboard, some type of program running, and a determined frown on her face.

Loki thanked the Norns that he was the only one at the Bifrost at the moment, otherwise it would've looked quite odd for a run-of-the-mill guard to shake his head in disgust.

Glancing back toward Midgard, the God noticed the girl freeze for a moment. It was odd, considering this girl was always talking and moving.

Darcy's fingers hovered over the keypad, her mouth forming a small 'O' in surprise. Loki wondered what would cause her to go into such a state. "He… He has the… He hacked… Ultron has the nuclear codes."

 _Oh. Well, that explains that._

Darcy glanced around as if to make sure no one was around before she returned her attention to the screen. "Let's see, he hacked into the military thing about… Twenty minutes ago, which is about the time Stark left Oslo." Loki figured that Stark must have found their ally, but why would he stop him helping them?

 _Pride no doubt_ , Loki thought with a grin. _Not wanting any help from an outsider._

"Where is he sending the nukes to?" A few more keystrokes and Darcy's face twisted to one of confusion. "Sokovia? The hell is in Sokovia that is so important to him?"

"I trust you are keeping out of trouble." Fury's voice cut through the near silence like a blade.

Loki expected the girl to try and quickly cover up the fact that she had actively searched for Ultron—an action that was no doubt against Fury and the Avenger's unspoken rule to keep her out of everything—with hasty excuses and jumbled movements. Instead, all she did was glance over her shoulder and sent her former boss a small smile before returning to her laptop. A few discreet keystrokes and the program was closed entirely and some type of Midgardian communication page opened up.

"Well, I've been jumping from YouTube to Tumblr… So about as much trouble as any bored-ass person can get." Darcy shrugged.

Fury smirked a bit. "Stark's back, Banner's calmed down, and Barton's about ten minutes out… And I must say, I'm impressed that you didn't set any furniture on fire."

"That was one fucking time!" Darcy protested with a huff.

"Still memorable."

"I'm never gonna live that down, am I?"

"Doubt it." Fury glanced at her computer and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "What am I looking at here Lewis?"

Loki was about to glance at her computer to see what they were talking about before Darcy shook her head in shame. "God, I dunno. Tumblr's like the after effect of LSD, it's never good but you keep coming back to it."

The man nodded in agreement before fixing Darcy with a questioning look. "And you're certain that this has all you been doing since Cap's mission was completed.

A brief flicker of panic flashed in the girl's expressive blue eyes—Loki saw it, but Fury didn't seem to notice—before Darcy shrugged again. "Nothing else to do around here."

Fury smirked knowingly. "Yeah, because as it stands so far, Ultron still has the jump on us. We don't know where he's going or what he's planning on doing."

The girl frowned. "Yeah… We're in trouble."

"To bad he already has the nuclear weapons with him too."

"Yeah, too bad he already—" Darcy winced before turning to face the man. "Is there anything you _don't_ know, Fury?"

"Thanks for telling me though." Fury patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Gives Hill and I a chance to get Theta Protocol up and running before the Avengers ship out."

"I'm sorry. Ultron took Nat and I was mad and Banner was mad so I got even madder…" Darcy gestured helplessly with her hands. "I just wanted to be useful."

Fury set his hand on her shoulder and look her in the eyes. "You are helpful. You may have helped create Ultron, but you are doing your best to help the others stop him. That takes guts." Darcy smiled gratefully. Fury nodded at the computer "Though, next time, cover your tracks a bit better. If you do that again, someone else might see and you could be in trouble."

As Fury walked toward the door, Darcy closed down her laptop. "Don't worry your eyepatch, Fury. Even if I was caught, no one would ever suspect me."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"No one ever suspects the coffee girl."

Fury paused just in the doorway and glanced at Darcy over his shoulder. Fury smiled knowingly. Loki noticed he had that look on his face, the same look he had when he had finished talking to the girl back at the Barton homestead. Like he just found something, like Darcy was the answer to some odd and unknown riddle.

Fury chuckled. "Guess they don't, do they?"

And he was gone.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"Anything on, Nat?" Banner asked Barton. Behind him, Darcy was trying (and failing) to open the cradle with her bare hands.

"Haven't heard." Barton sighed, setting his arrows down. "But she's alive, or Ultron'd be rubbing our faces in it."

With one last grunt of effort, Darcy's hands slipped from the cradle and she stumbled back into Stark, who caught her before she could fall back any farther. "Damn, that thing's sealed tight."

"And you thought you could pry it open because…?" Stark asked her, pointedly looking at her arms.

Darcy nodded. "Touché, Tin Man."

Stark helped the girl to her feet before making his way over to the cradle and inspecting it himself. "We're going to need an access program, break it down from within."

"Any chance Natasha might leave you a message?" Banner asked Barton hopefully.

"Yeah, like something outside the internet?" Darcy added, for Banner's sake, Loki assumed. "Y'know, old school spy stuff?"

Barton looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah, there are some nets I can cast." He gave Banner a reassuring smile and pat on the back. "Yeah, alright. I'll find her."

Banner, looking relieved, nodded his thanks. As Barton left the room, the doctor turned back to the other two left in the room. "I can work on tissue degeneration, if you and Darcy can fry whatever operational system Cho implanted."

Darcy nodded her assent as Stark winced and placed a hand on the cradle. "Yeah… About that…" Banner and Darcy's eyes widened.

"No." Banner said.

" _Hell_ no!" Darcy exclaimed.

"You two have to trust me," Stark pleaded.

"Kinda don't," Banner retorted as Darcy nodded.

"Our ally? The guy protecting the military's nuclear codes? I found him." Stark said.

A nearby computer hummed to life. _"Hello, Dr. Banner. And it's a pleasure to see you again, Miss Lewis."_

"J.A.R.V.I.S?" Banner asked, amazed.

"You're alive?" Darcy approached the computer smiling, relief and awe crossing her face.

" _Indeed I am, Miss Lewis."_

"Ultron didn't go after J.A.R.V.I.S because he was angry, he went after him because he was scared of what he could do." Stark explained. "So J.A.R.V.I.S went underground, ok? Scattered, dumped his memory. But not his protocols. He didn't even know I was there until I pieced him together."

Banner glanced between Stark and the cradle. "So you want me and Darcy to help you put J.A.R.V.I.S into this thing?"

"No, of course not!" Stark paused for a beat. "Darcy and I are going to help _you_ put J.A.R.V.I.S into this thing." Darcy and Banner gapped at the man for a moment.

"We're out of my field here!" Banner argued.

"You know bio-organics better than anyone." Stark countered.

"Tony, this wasn't in my job description. I'm your assistant!" Darcy pointed out.

"Then assist me by assisting Banner!" Stark told her.

"And you just assume that J.A.R.V.I.S's operational matrix can beat Ultron?"

"J.A.R.V.I.S has been beating him from the inside without knowing it. This is the opportunity, we can create Ultron's perfect self… Without the homicidal glitches he thinks are his winning personality." Stark glanced at the uncertain faces of his friends and smiled. "We have to, I think it's worth a go. Darcy, what'd you think?"

Darcy groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I do _not_ get paid enough for this shit."

"No, I'm in a loop. I'm caught in a time loop!" Banner said, frustrated. "This is exactly where it all went wrong. I know, I know… I know what everybody's going to say but they're already saying it."

Stark placed his hands on Banner's shoulders and looked him dead in the eye. "We're mad scientist. We're monsters, buddy, and Darcy's our Igor. You gotta own it, make a stand. It's not a loop, it's the end of the line."

Throughout Stark's speech, Darcy had made her way over to the cradle and peered inside. Loki could see every expression on her face like an open book. Whatever was in the cradle was created by Ultron, therefore, it had the potential to be dangerous. Darcy knew this, Loki knew this. Yet, the God could also see the young girl's fascination with whatever was inside. He could see her hope that perhaps by the off chance Stark was right, this creation could do good. It could what Ultron was meant to do, what Ultron was supposed to do.

Darcy glanced back at the computer J.A.R.V.I.S occupied, her expression thoughtful. She then glanced back at the cradle, her eyes fixated on the Infinity Stone inside. A bright yellow color as opposed to the dark blue it was while encased in the scepter.

Finally, Darcy let out an exasperated sigh before turning to the two scientists. "What the hell? 'Hakuna Matata', right?" She glanced between Stark and Banner. "What do you knuckleheads want me to do first?"

Stark glanced at Banner expectantly. The doctor looked to Darcy, almost begging her to change her mind, before giving in and saying. "Get some cables, we're going to have to connect _that_ computer to the cradle, somehow."

Darcy nodded and started off. About halfway across the lap she stopped, suddenly looking thoughtful. Spinning on her heel, she marched back towards Stark. Once behind him, she spun him around and yanked him toward her by the color of his shirt. She glared at the Iron Man "Did you just call me _'Igor'_?"

Stark visibly winced. "I was hoping you wouldn't catch that…" He whispered. Loki caught sight of Darcy's face and chuckled.

 _If looks could kill…_ He mused.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"This framework is not compatible." Stark muttered distastefully.

"The genetic coding tower is at ninety-seven percent." Darcy informed the scientists.

"We're going to have to upload that schematic within the next three minutes." Banner said urgently, glancing at the readings on his little portable.

Darcy glanced at a nearby computer and frowned worriedly. "This thing's got a lot of power in it. Like… _a lot_ of power in it."

"I'm only going to say this once." The Captain told everyone sternly as he entered the room, flanked by the twins.

"How about 'nonce'?" Stark offered.

"'Nonce'?" Darcy questioned. Loki rolled his eyes, _Good to see her priorities are in order_.

"Shut it down." The Captain ordered.

"Nope." Stark shook his head. "Not gonna happen."

"You don't know what you're doing." The witch said.

"And you do?" Darcy asked.

"She's not in your head?" Banner asked the Captain skeptically.

"I know you're angry," The witch began, approaching Banner slowly.

"No, were way past that." Banner laughed humorlessly before glaring at the witch. "I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade." The witch, wisely, stayed put. Eyeing Banner warily.

"Banner, after everything that's happened…" The Captain trailed off.

"That's nothing compared to what's coming." Darcy snapped, coming to Stark, Banner, and her's defense.

"You don't know what's in there!" Wanda argued. "That creature…"

Everyone was cut off as Pietro dashed around the cradle, disconnecting the cables before stopping and dropping them on the ground. He looked at everyone innocently "No, no, go on. You were saying?"

Darcy stomped over to him and yanked the cords up from the ground. "Alright, Roadrunner, good move. But that was a little uncalled for, don't you think?"

As the blonde man started to respond, a low groan was heard from below. Pietro shoved Darcy out of the way, just in time for the ground to collapse beneath him, sending him a floor below. As he groaned in pain, Barton smirked. "What? You didn't see that coming?"

Up in Asgard, Loki smiled and nodded. _Admittedly, Quicksilver had that coming…_

"Pietro!" Wanda called out.

"I am alright," He glared at Barton who only shrugged his shoulders impishly before making his way upstairs.

"I'm re-routing the upload." The Captain announced, making his way toward the computer.

"Like Hell you are," Stark glared at the man, blocking his way. Loki noticed a part of his metal suit was in place over his chest, ready to go into action if need be.

Darcy noticed as well. "No, _no_! Steve, step back and Tony put the suit away before I taser your ass!"

Wanda tried to say something but Banner grabbed her neck and hissed "Go ahead, try and say something, try to piss me off!"

"Banner, you're not helping!" Darcy told him.

Pietro rushed over to his sister's side and yanked her away from Banner's grip. "Don't touch her," he said lowly.

"Why don't you make him?' Barton asked, pointing an arrow at the boy's neck.

As an argument erupted between everyone, Darcy was running back and forth trying defuse every situation that came up. "Banner, back off Wanda!" "Clint, put that arrow away if you know what's good for you!" "Steve you put that damn shield down and Tony if I see another part of your suit come out from nowhere, I swear to God I'm going to kick your ass so hard, your nose will bleed!"

Loki found it both amusing and pitiful. Humans running around shouting at each other, such low beings. Squawking at each other like birds in the face of a crisis. _Funny, but still pitiful_.

Darcy heard the crack of thunder just as he did. Both, though being in different location in the Nine Realms, turned toward the window and noticed the dark sky and the snap of lightning. Darcy's face drained of color. "You have _got_ to be kidding me…"

Thor crashed through the ceiling moments later and landed on the edge of the cradle, startling everyone from their petty squabbles. As Thor contemplated the cradle below him, Darcy urgently made her way over to the Thunder God.

"Thor, wait!"

Thor pointed Mjölnir directly at the head of the cradle. Lightning and energy shot from the hammer and into the cradle, a blinding light shot out. Darcy shielded her eyes with her hands and took a couple of steps back as everyone else either shielded their eyes or watched the spectacle.

As soon as he started it, Thor lowered his hammer and watched the cradle with baited breath. His not-brother didn't have to wait for long. A being made of red muscle and skin intertwined with vibranium, one that eerily resembled a man, shot out from the cradle. Making Thor jump back and glass shards fly every which way. Darcy would have been cut by the glass shards if not for Pietro rushing up and shielding her in the nick of time. The creature (Loki wasn't sure what it was or what to call it) crouched down on the edge of the cradle where Thor once stood. He didn't make a sound.

No one dared to move. No one dared to breathe.

Not one single Avenger nor Darcy could do anything but stare at the being. The creature, in turned surveyed everyone in the room and the room itself, paying particular attention to Darcy, the witch, and Thor.

Everything on Midgard seemed to move so slowly for a brief moment.

Then Loki saw it.

In the creature's eyes, a flash of panic. Fear itself. It was confused.

The creature lunged at Thor, who in turned kicked the creature through the glass wall behind him. The creature went flying through the air and Loki thought he would've crashed through the window, but he stopped just before he did. He stopped and looked out the window.

The creature glanced at all the buildings in sight, he glanced at the humans down below who unaware of what was going on above the, and he glanced at his own reflection before glancing at the people behind him.

Thor had jumped from where the other Avengers were down to the platform just below the creature. His not-brother approached it steadily. The Captain jumped after Thor, shield in hand, Thor set his hammer down on a nearby table and held his arm up and shook his head at the Captain.

Unable to stop herself, Darcy Lewis ducks under Pietro's arm and sprints down to where Thor and the Captain are now standing. As she comes to a stop a few feet away from Thor, the two friends share a look before returning there gaze to what is front of them

The creature glances at Darcy's reflection for a brief moment before glancing back at his own. A green and red suit materializes on him in an instant—much to Darcy's amazement—as he lowers himself to the ground in front of Thor and Darcy.

"I'm sorry. That was… odd." The creature, who wounds quite similar to Stark's robotic servant, says. He smiles gratefully at Thor as a golden cape, one that resembles Thor's, materializes on his shoulder "Thank you."

His not-brother smiles at the creature as Darcy says, "Don't sweat it. I mean… You were just born so…"

"Thor," The Captain says as everyone else makes their way over to the platform, "You helped create this?" The unspoken _'Why?'_ hung in the air.

"I've had a vision." Thor explained. "A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life and at its center, is _that_." He points to the Infinity Stone in the creature's head.

"What, the gem?" The Captain asked uncertainly.

"It is one of the six Infinity Stones, the greatest power in the universe, unpatrolled in its destructive capabilities." The Thunder God said grimly.

"Then why would you bring it to…?" Darcy asked.

"Because Stark is right."

"Oh, it's definitely the end times." Banner said, earning a look from Stark.

"The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron." The creature said. "Not alone."

"Why does your 'vision' sound like J.A.R.V.I.S?" The Captain asked.

"We reconfigured J.A.R.V.I.S's matrix to make something new." Stark explained.

"I think I've had my fill of new."

"You think I'm a child of Ultron?" The creature asked.

"You're not?"

"I am not Ultron. I'm not J.A.R.V.I.S. I am… I am…" The creature frowned and glanced down uncertainly.

"The Vision." Darcy supplied. "You're a Vision, our Vision, the team's Vision… You're _the_ Vision."

"The Vision…" The creature tested it out on his tongue. "The Vision… I like that very much, thank you." He smiled gratefully at Darcy, who grinned brightly.

"I looked in your head and saw annihilation." Wanda spoke up, eyeing the Vision warily.

"Look again," the Vision told her simply.

"Yeah, her seal of approval means jack to me." Barton laughed mirthlessly.

"Their powers, the horrors in our head, Ultron himself; they all came from the Mind Stone, and they're nothing compared to what it can unleash." Thor stated. "But with it on our side,"

"Is it?" The Captain questioned before turning to the Vision. "Are you? On our side?"

"I don't think it's that simple." The Vision replied.

"Well it better get real simple real soon."

"I'm on the side of life, Ultron is not. He will end it all."

"What's he waiting for?" Stark asked.

"You,"

"Where?" Darcy questioned.

"Sokovia." At the Vision's answer, the twins and Darcy exchanged uneasy glances.

"He's got Nat there too," Barton chipped in.

"If were wrong about you… if you're the monster Ultron created… What will you do?" The Captain asked.

The Vision exhaled. "I don't want to kill Ultron. He's unique, and he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the Earth, so he must be destroyed. Every form he's built, every trace of presence on the 'net. We have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others. Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are, and I'm not what you intended. So there may be no way to make you trust me," The Vision then bent down and lifted Mjölnir from the table as if it weighed nothing and handed it to Thor, "But we need to go."

From his place up in Asgard, Loki gaped at the android, surprise and anger filling him. Years ago he had tried to lift Mjölnir and failed. The Avengers had all tried to lift Mjölnir and failed.

Now this… _thing_ , this machine made by a machine had lifted it with ease.

As he scowled, he noticed the shocked expressions on everyone's faces. Those like the twins were a bit more confused by the matter, but those like Stark and Barton were staring at the Vision in utter shock. Then Loki noticed Darcy.

When the Vision had first offered the hammer to his not-brother, her mouth had all but dropped to the floor, but then as the seconds flew by, it slowly morphed into a large grin.

Just as Thor took the hammer from the Vision, Darcy slammed her fist on the nearby table, "You're hired!"

All eyes were on the grinning girl. The Vision just stared at her in confusion, not understanding what she was referring to, Thor raised his brow but Loki could see a small smile on his face, the twins (though chuckling at the scene) were looking at her, bemused smiles on their faces, while the other Avengers just looked at her.

Darcy just shrugged, grin still in place, before turning to the Vision. "You are totally an Avenger now, just for that. You're so hired."

Up in Asgard, Loki pinched the bridge of his nose.

 _Mortals…_

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 **What Darcy did just there, I also said that when I first watched the movie. Albeit a bit louder than the Nick 'Mother-fuckin' Fury thing, but I still said. My friend and the people sitting behind us got a kick out of it though…**

 **Alright, like I said, I start school tomorrow so updates will be less frequent. I hope to have the next chapter up by the end of the month but by the latest it will be up by October.**

 **Next chapter is where some serious shit goes down (Those who have seen the movie, you know what I mean).**

 **I'm excited to hear what you people think and I'll see you guy's next chapter! :)**


	6. 5: Battle of Sokovia

**Alright. Here it is. Battle of Sokovia. Last stand… Shit's going to get real.**

 **Also,** _ **Jane Malfoy24**_ **: Jane will show up after the** _ **Age of Ultron**_ **arc and I do love the Thor/Jane relationship too.**

 **I'd like to dedicate this chapter to** _ **jaylene**_ **and** __ _ **x ToxXik x**_ **.** _ **jaylene**_ **was curious to know what the relationship between Ultron and Darcy was. So, I got to thinking and well, I thought to throw caution to the wind and include Darcy in the final battle and a little scene between her and Robo-Pinocchio. And it was** _ **x ToxXik x**_ **birthday last week. Better late than never right?**

 **And speaking of final battles. I've been trying to keep things as close to canon as possible (even if I included a couple of people who weren't originally in it to begin with), you guys know this. So, as for what happens in this chapter… Don't kill me.**

 **Disclaimer: I only own at least some of the nicknames. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to duck behind a wall.**

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Loki watched from Asgard, as Odin, as Darcy typed away at the control station in the quinjet. Apparently the rule to keep Darcy Lewis far from any battle front after the Shipyard incident had been forgotten. As the girl tugged anxiously at her stocking cap, Loki saw that the twins and Stark were loading new sets of equipment into the quinjet.

The God of Lies wasn't sure what surprised him more; the fact that the twins were willingly working with Stark, or that the Iron Man had put up little to no resistance on Darcy accompanying them to Sokovia.

Then again Thor all but commanded her to stay at the tower (Loki smiled at the memory of Barton nearly being knocked out after he tried to calm down the Thunder God). It had taken the Vision and the twins to convince the other Avengers that she could be useful.

So—after much arguing—it was decided that Darcy would come with them to Sokovia. But, and paraphrasing the Iron Man: "We'll be damned if you lay one foot on the ground". The girl said she could live with that and escorted the twins to the quinjet, saying she needed some help moving some things.

By the look of the technology, it was meant to serve the same purpose as a monitor.

"So, what plug goes where?" Pietro asked, holding up a set of cables and wires.

Darcy flipped open a couple of panels. "Green to green, red to red, and if you get lost just try and match up the ends with the size of the plug-in-place." The boy nodded, zooming past the other three in the quinjet before quickly following Darcy's instructions.

Once finished, Pietro nodded to Stark, who nonchalantly hit a few buttons. The machines hummed to life, Wanda smiled as Darcy and Pietro nodded. Stark turned to address his little assistant "Alright, these," he gestured to the multiple screens, "will give you the eyes." He handed her what looked to Loki a slightly more advanced version of the communicator's the other Avengers were using. "These will give you ears on everybody and everything." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small brown box. The twins and Darcy gave the man questioning looks. "And this is because you and Pepper are the only ones who can talk me out of Drunk-Science."

Darcy weighed the box in her hand and smiled slightly "Aw, Tony, I love you too!"

Stark shrugged, "Eh, what can I say, I'm a giver."

"I'm not touching that one." The other three replied in unison. They exchanged glances before smiling at each other.

Stark rolled his eyes before walking out of the quinjet, muttering something along the lines of "Son of a bitch, now there's three of them." It was Thor who called Stark out on his crass language this time, much to the Captain's annoyance.

"Is he always like that?" Wanda asked.

"Honey, that's the only way he is." Darcy replied sympathetically.

"What's in the box?" Pietro asked. Darcy shrugged before flipping the lid off. Before it could touch the floor, Quicksilver reached out and grabbed it, reading the inside of the box "Stark Industries. Project number 83I-G; Prototype version 4.0…"

Darcy held the object in her hand. Roughly, it was a bit bigger than the Taser she lost in Wakanda ( _Rest in Peace, Pikachu… Rest in Peace…_ ). It was shaped like a gun, except the barrel was slightly bigger and more square-shaped than most guns Darcy had seen (granted those were limited to the hunting rifles her dad, her brother, and herself had used when she was growing up, but still). A blue strip near the handle caught Darcy's attention. Narrowing her eyes she saw a small script across the side. Reading it silently to herself, she chortled.

"What?" Wanda asked, confused. Darcy held the weapon out to the girl. "Electromagnetic Pulse Gun; Travel Size."

"I think I'll call it… _Electabuzz_."

"Why not Pikachu 2?" Pietro asked teasingly, remembering their conversation in Wakanda.

"Doesn't feel right." Darcy stared at her new weapon before frowning slightly. "You two sure about this… I mean, you guys and Ultron…"

"He has to be stopped," Pietro assured. "And our country is at stake."

Wanda looked at the brunette. "You don't have to do all this. You can stay here, you'll be safer."

"Thor and the others would like that better… But, I need to help them." Darcy cracked a teasing smile. "Someone has to keep you dweebs in line." The witch opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Darcy, "If you even _mention_ what I did last New Year's Eve, I will not be responsible for what Electabuzz does to you."

The witch nodded before making her way to the quinjet's exit, her brother in tow. The witch turned around before she left. "Ultron… He knows…" Exhaling, she tried again. "Ultron knows that you were right about him, about us working for him… And he's mad at you for it."

Darcy didn't turn around, only frowned in worry. Loki noticed that she seemed to grip her new weapon a bit closer to her chest. "Hey, I'm not even going to be on the ground so… I think I'm good."

The twins didn't look convinced, but left Darcy alone in the quinjet nonetheless. After a few minutes, the girl glanced at the new equipment before fidgeting nervously. Finally she exhaled, "Well, nothing against having a Plan B…" She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

After a few moments, she smiled slightly. "Hey, Sam… Um, just asking out of curiosity but, what're you doing for the next say… five to twelve hours?"

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Pietro dashed into a building. "We're under attack, clear the city now!" he shouted before dashing out. The people in the building merely glanced at him before turning back to whatever it was they were doing. One man, Loki noticed, seemed fixated on some game on his computer. Pietro dashed in a moment later, gun in hand, and fired at the ceiling. Everyone jumped, some even shrieked, but Quicksilver merely tossed the gun and told the people in the building to "Get of your asses."

Looking around, Loki noticed that (by comparison) Quicksilver was doing the more… 'Humane' thing. His sister was using her powers to put the people into a trance and lead then out of the Sokovian town. Then again, for all Loki knew of Ultron's plan, it was probably better that she do use her powers.

Glancing up, he saw a quinjet flying in circles around the Sokovian town, neither Ultron nor any of its drones were in sight. The God assumed that quinjet held Darcy Lewis, _No doubt she'll turn swift once Ultron rears its head_.

Speak of the devil, when Loki noticed Stark—in his Iron armor—he heard the girl's voice. _"Tony, he's in the church in the center of the city. Pretty sure he's waiting for you…"_

"Got it," Stark blasted off toward the church as Darcy told him _"Don't do anything stupid!"_

"Let's be realistic here, kiddo." By the time Stark landed in the church, Ultron was there next to a large, metal cylinder of some kind. Whatever it was, it didn't look friendly.

"Come to confess your sins?" Ultron asked Stark.

"I dunno. How much time you got?"

"Longer than you,"

"Uhh, have you been juicing on Vibranium Cocktails?" Stark asked, sizing Ultron's latest form. Admittedly, the God of Lies did find the machine's final form mildly imposing, but nothing he couldn't handle. "You're looking… I don't want to say puffy…"

"You're stalling to protect the people." Ultron 'glared'.

"Well, that is the mission. Did you forget that?"

"I've moved beyond your mission." The machine 'smiled'. Loki noticed it was somewhat bitter though. "I'm free…"

" _I swear to God if he starts singing that Pinocchio song again…"_ Darcy trailed off.

"What? You think you and the others are the only ones stalling?" Ultron narrowed its 'eyes' at Stark.

"There's the rest of the vibranium," Stark nodded at the cylinder, "Function; still unclear."

"This is how you end, Tony. _This_ is peace in my time."

"Ultron!" Iron Man and Ultron glanced up to see the Vision hovering above them. The android lowered himself to the ground.

"My Vision…" Ultron propelled itself upward. The machine and the creation met in the air.

" _His Vision?"_ Darcy asked indignantly.

"Not now, Lewis." If Ultron heard Stark, it ignored him in favor of staring at the android forlornly.

"They really did take everything from me."

"You set the terms, you can change them." Vision replied.

"Alright." Ultron shrugged before launching itself at the Vision, attempting to strangle him. The vision merely lifted his hands, thumbs digging into the metal just outside Ultron's 'eyes'. As its eyes glowed a brighter shade of orange-red, Ultron let out a pained gasp.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y? The Vision?" Iron Man asked, watching as the two above him struggle.

" _Boss, it's working."_ A new female voice cut in. Loki wasn't sure who F.R.I.D.A.Y was, but the way Stark spoke to her, he thought that perhaps it might be a replacement for J.A.R.V.I.S. _"He's burning Ultron out of the 'net. He won't escape through there."_

" _That's my boy!"_ Darcy said proudly. The God of Lies could all but hear Stark rolling his eyes.

After a moment, Vision released Ultron and the machine grabbed its 'head' in pain before glaring accusingly at the android. "You shut me out!" He punched Vision across the face before grabbing his neck and shoving him to the ground. "You think I care? You take away my world, I take away yours." Ultron waltzed over the cylinder and, turning a switch, enacted his plan.

Loki had to give credit to the machine, making Sokovia launch into the sky was good for show. The God glanced at the Avengers, and saw they were as bewildered as he was. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch glanced around. "Uh, Darcy, what is happening?"

"Well… uh… from what can tell you guys are airborne."

"Do you have anything else to report?" The witch deadpanned.

"Well, _Sabrina_ , either Ultron decided to take the phrase 'Screw gravity' a bit more literally than is necessary or you and Sokovia are about to die a horrible flaming death like the dinosaurs… Or at the very least, like _The Last Airbender_."

"You're the one in the sky, what do we do?"

"Go save the civilians, what'd you think?!"Nodding, Quicksilver ran off, taking out quite a few sentries as he did. The witch merely stayed behind, a red aura of energy floating out of her fingers.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y.?" Stark asked.

" _Sokovia's going for a ride!"_

"Do you see the beauty of it? The inevitably? You rise, only to fall. You, _Avengers_ , you are my meteor, my swift and terrible sword and the Earth will crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me—it means nothing! When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal."

" _I don't care what you guys have to do, just stop that god damn robot before things get worse!"_ Darcy Lewis's words seemed to snap the others back to attention. Barton pulled out arrow after arrow and unleashed it upon the unlucky sentries, Thor gave a large battle cry before striking Mjölnir against the robots around him, the Captain remained vigilant in trying to evacuate the remaining citizens while the twins tried to keep damage control to a minimum (not an easy thing to do with a flying city), and the Spider and Banner were just outside the old HYDRA facility.

As Stark blasted Ultron and a few of his sentries, he glanced down at the cylinder. Loki could only guess that the Iron Man was grimacing, seeing as he had his mask in place. As Stark was blasted out of the church and Ultron flew to take care of the other Avengers, the Iron Man glanced around and noticed something. The city was still together. Roughly estimating, if a city this size was blown into the sky under any other circumstance (Tony wasn't sure what kind of circumstance called for a flying city, but still) the land mass of said city would be dropping to the Earth in chunks about the size of eight Hulks. Stark frowned, "Darcy, honey, you better have something on that Vibranium cylinder."

"I have bad news and then I have _meh_ -news."

"What's the bad news?"

"That cylinder is the Vibranium core. It's got some magnetic field around it, that's what's keeping this hunk of rock together."

"If it drops?"

"As of now, it could kill thousands. Once it gets high enough… Global Extinction."

"Alright… What's the _meh_ -news?"

" _That building behind you isn't clear."_ Stark glanced behind him. _"Tenth floor."_ Shooting forward, the Iron Man crashed into a window and found a small family huddled on the floor. He nodded at them before scanning the room, spotting the bath tub, he glanced back at the family. "Hi… Ok, everyone get in the tub."

Minutes later, the Iron Man was carrying the family through the air, dodging sentries, flew the bath tub to the bridge.

Not the oddest thing Loki has ever seen in his long life, but it was still up there.

Loki glanced at the Captain in time to see him be tackled by a robot, only for Stark to call out "Cap, you got incoming!"

The Captain swung his shield at the robots head, denting it before tossing him off the edge of the rock. "In coming already came in!" Standing up and kicking another robot away, the Captain called out "Darcy, what've you got? How are we doing?"

" _You want an honest answer or do you need a laugh?"_

"Darcy!" Thor and the Captain shouted warningly.

" _There's still a ton of citizens on that rock, Ultron's got to many copies of himself to handle one-on-one, the city's flying, and frankly I can't make heads or tails of anything."_

"So bad, right?"

" _Aye, aye Captain."_ Loki didn't have to look to see the girl roll her eyes. _"You might wanna start calling it, Iced Cappuccino. Because all I can do here is look down and see the rock getting closer."_

"Doesn't she know that thing has a gun underneath it?" Stark asked.

" _There's a gun underneath this damn thing! Barton, why didn't you tell me?"_

"Yeah, right, I'm gonna give you control of a flying gun."

" _Fair point,"_

"Look, Stark, you worry on bringing the city back down safely." Stark nodded at the Captain before flying off, "Darcy, you're our eyes in the sky. Help us out from above—"

"But if you so much as _look_ at the controls for the gun, I swear I'm gonna come up there and kick your ass all the way back to New York!" Barton growled.

" _Wouldn't dream of it!"_ Loki glanced at the girl in time to see her crossing two of her fingers.

"Uncross your fingers, Lady Darcy. Don't give us anything else to concern ourselves with." Thor rolled his eyes, Loki didn't even want to know how his not-brother knew that Darcy Lewis had crossed her fingers… Or what the crossing of ones fingers meant on Midgard.

The Captain ignored Darcy's complaints and continued, "As for the rest of us, we have one job: tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt 'em back. If you get killed… walk it off."

" _Let's move it people!"_ Darcy shouted encouragingly.

The Captain and Thor charged at a hoard of sentients, the Thunder God hitting the Captain's shield so it ricochet off the sentries heads as Quicksilver charged at a few remaining drones near the bridge. Barton shot more arrows at the approaching sentries, with the Witch as his aid as Stark flew to the bottom of the flying city.

Barton glanced over his shoulder to see a mass of drones approaching them, he spotted a building not too far from where he and the Witch were, thinking fast he fired an explosive tipped arrow at the building. As the arrow hit its mark, Barton grabbed Wanda and ducked into a nearby building.

Once inside, and the explosion had gone off, Barton prepared himself to move but the Witch's voce stopped him. "How could I let this happen?"

"Hey, hey you okay?"

"This is all our fault!" Wanda cried in anguish, referring to her and her brother's workings with Ultron.

Barton knelt down beside her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, look at me. It's your fault, it's everyone's fault, who cares? Are you up for this? Are you?" Wanda glanced up at the archer with a helpless expression. "Look, I just need to know, 'cause the city, i-it's flying." Still, the helpless expression remained. "Ok, look, the city if flying, we're fighting an army of robots, and I have a _bow and arrow_. None of this makes sense."

Loki nodded in agreement. None of it made sense. _And honestly, who fights machines with a bow and an arrow?_

"But I'm going back out there because it's my job. Ok? I can't do my job and babysit. It doesn't matter what you did, or what you were. If you go out there, you fight, and you fight to kill. Stay in here, you're good. I'll have Darcy get your brother to come find you, but if you step out that door, you're an Avenger." Wanda nodded at Barton's words before the archer strapped his arrows to his back and grabbed his bow. "Alright, good chat." And off he went.

Glancing at his not-brother and the Captain, he saw Thor punch one drone in the stomach and sending it flying into several others and the Captain kick his shield into one drone's neck. As he lay on the ground, the Captain spotted Ultron. Thinking fast, he yanked his shield out of the robot's neck and tossed it, slicing Ultron through its center.

Just as Loki thought that was the anticlimactic end, Ultron—who apparently could still escape through its drones—appeared behind the Captain and proceeded to strangle him. "Look at me!" The machine ground out. "You can't save them all. You'll never—" Am electric baton to its metal head cut Ultron off. The Spider merely yanked out her baton and tossed the husk aside, eyeing it distastefully. "'You'll never' what? You didn't finish."

"What, were you napping?" The Captain asked.

Thor, after plowing his way through the drones, threw one into a nearby oil truck, causing it to explode. Ultron, from his new host in the sky glared down at the God. "Thor!" Ultron raced to the rock and grabbed Thor by his neck. "You're bothering me."

Ultron flew Thor back to the church and threw him to the ground before pummeling him savagely. _"Steve, you got some drones on your tail, Nat do whatever it was you were doing, Barton try not to run out of arrows. Thor, how you holding up?"_

All the girl received in response was garbled mix of pained moans and calls for assistance.

" _Was that Norse or something?"_ Darcy questioned. It took all his strength for Loki not to roll his eyes.

Deciding it was not as amusing seeing someone else, and not him, beat his not-brother to a pulp, Loki turned his gaze elsewhere just in time to see the Scarlet Witch step out and use her powers to smash one drone against a nearby wall. Using her 'hexing' abilities, she threw many of the drones against the wall. Once they were gone, Barton sent a smile to her. "Alright… You're an Avenger. Darcy was right, you're both Avengers." The archer froze a second before glancing back at the girl. "Please don't tell her I said that."

" _Too late, I heard everything. If we weren't in the situation we are now, I would_ so _be doing my Darcy-was-right dance."_

The witch laughed, having heard what the girl said. That's when her brother ran up and saw her laughing. "Did I miss something?"

"Darcy is getting her dancing shoes ready."

"What?"

" _You don't have to understand it, Zoom-Zoom, just roll with it."_ Darcy called out.

"We're all clear here." Barton said.

"We are not clear! We are very not clear!" the Captain called out.

" _Yikes! Ultron's figured out how to multiply… You three might wanna get over there."_

"Alright, coming to you, Captain." Hoisting his sister up, Pietro ran off. Shouting back "Keep up, old man!" To Barton as he ran by him, causing him to stumble.

Barton aimed his arrow in the general direction that Pietro ran toward. "Nobody would know, nobody. Yeah, last I saw him, Ultron was sitting on him. Uh… yeah, he'll be missed. Quick little bastard, I miss him already."

" _I'll know,"_ Darcy told him.

"Of course you would know, you know everything about us. Even the things we don't want you to know."

" _I love being me."_

Grunting at her comment, Barton chased after the twins.

Noticing that the city seemed to get higher and higher, Loki glanced back at the Iron Man and saw him both dodging drones and trying to figure out the safest way to put the city back on the down _without_ millions of casualties. "Darcy, boop, theoretically speaking, what would happen if blew the anti-gravity rigs?"

" _They'd go full reverse thrust and then we'd all be screwed in the royal way."_ After Stark let out a string of choice words (and the Spider called him out on said words), Darcy continued. _"That city ain't coming down slow."_

"The spire's vibranium. If I get Thor to hit it…"

" _It'll crack but it still won't be enough, the impact will still be devastating."_

"Maybe if we could cap the other end, keep the atomic action doubling back."

" _Then you would vaporize the entire city and everyone on it, including you guys!"_

Stark seemed deep in thought for a moment. "Is that all?"

Darcy's mouth fell open, not wanting to believe Stark's words. The Captain glanced at the few remaining drones and saw the mass of drones assembling a few hundred yards away. "The next wave's gonna hit any minute, what'd you got, Stark?"

"Well, nothing great. Maybe a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys can get clear."

"I asked for a solution, not an escape plan."

"The impact radius is getting bigger every second!"

" _You guys are going to have to make a choice, here. Aren't you?"_

"Cap, these people are going nowhere." Barton interjected. "If Stark can find a way to blow this rock…"

"Not until everyone's safe!"

"Everyone one up here versus everyone down there? There's no math here." Stark pointed out.

"I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it!" The Captain shouted. _Always trying to save the people,_ Loki mused, _weak._

Then, Stark threw everyone for a loop. "I didn't say we should leave."

All Avengers glanced out into the horizon, watching as they flew higher and higher into the sky. Darcy, still an arguably safe distance away, let out a small "No…" in response to her dear hero's plan.

The Spider was the first to break the silence. "There are worst ways to go. Where else am I gonna get a view like this?"

" _Well I'm glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better."_ All Avenger's heads and Darcy's turned to look at the approaching helicarrier. Piloted by none other than Maria Hill and, of course, Nick Fury. _"Nice, right? I pulled her out of the mothballs along with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do."_

"Fury, you son of a bitch." The Captain said, slightly in awe.

" _Oooh! You kiss your mother with that mouth?"_ Which earned a snort from Darcy.

Glancing back to said girl, Loki found her smiling at the whole scene. One of the screens that she, the twins, and Stark had installed earlier began to flash a white S.H.I.E.L.D symbol. _"Miss Lewis,"_ F.R.I.D.A.Y's voice announced, _"The helicarrier wishes to establish a communication link with you."_

"Establish that link, F.R.I.D.A.Y. And be ready to send over any data they might need."

" _I'll get right on that, miss."_

Minutes later, the screen that was flashing the symbol earlier gave way to a live image of Nick Fury. "I thought we agreed that you would stay as far away from conflict as you possibly could?"

"We all knew that wouldn't last, Mofo." Darcy told him simply.

Fury rolled his one last eyes so much, Loki thought it would just pop right out. "That's still not my middle name."

"I'm still refusing to believe that."

Maria Hill sighed from off-screen while an awkward man with a head of dark curls tried, and failed, to stifle his laughter. Fury sent them both a look before continuing, "We got some data, not all of it though. Mind sharing?"

"Already got F.R.I.D.A.Y on it. But I'll give you the gist of it; Ultron's a dick, the city is more than likely going to become a meteor, Tony has about forty-seven percent of a plan, Clint's the idiot who brought a bow and arrow to a robot fight, I'm still regretting not getting a job at Starbucks, and nothing makes sense anymore."

Dark curls chuckled. "Is that all?"

Darcy smiled. "Nice to hear from you again, Cameron. Haven't seen you since New Year's."

"Still setting couches on fire?" Cameron asked.

"One time, man…"

" _Darcy, did you have anything to do with this?"_ Thor asked.

"Thor, just because I knew about the Theta Protocol, doesn't mean I called them in."

" _Yes! Now this going to be a good story!"_ The War Machine said, decked out in a new silver suit, as he flew into the air to assist Iron Man in handling the air born drones.

" _And the War Machine?"_ Thor asked.

"Not my work."

That's when a rain of bullets descended down behind the Thunder God. Turning around, he saw a few drones lying deactivated and covered in bullet holes at his feet. That's when the friend of the Captain's, the Falcon, swooped down just overhead.

"Caw-Caw, Thunder Boy." And off he went, shooting down drones as he went. Thor raised a brow and smiled knowingly, "Darcy?"

" _Ok, that one_ was _me. You can never have too many heroes, y'know."_ Laughing merrily, Thor threw his hammer and went flying after the Falcon.

Meanwhile, Pietro and Wanda were looking at the helicarrier in fascination. "This is S.H.I.E.L.D?" Pietro asked.

"This is what S.H.I.E.L.D is supposed to be." Barton told him.

Pietro nodded and smiled. "This is not so bad."

The battle, it seemed, to be turning in the Avenger's favor. With the addition of the War Machine, the Falcon, and S.H.I.E.L.D, the Avengers were now able to beat back more and more machines, and Ultron had to keep switching from drone to drone due to the fact that everyone was taking a shot at it. Though, one of the drones Ultron didn't take over did crash into the helicarrier's main control room and nearly attacked that Cameron fellow, only to be shot down by Maria Hill.

Bored with what he saw on the helicarrier, Loki turned to see Ultron punch Thor back into the church before promptly trying to strangle him. The machine 'scowled' at his not-brother. "You think you're saving anyone? I turn that key and drop this rock a little early, it's still billions dead. Even you can't stop that!"

"I am Thor, son of Odin, and as long as there is still life in my breast, I am… running out of things to say. Are you ready?"

From behind, the Vision swung Mjölnir at Ultron's metal head. Knocking it clear off the body and the husk to the other side of the church. Tossing the hammer back to Thor, the Vision remarked "It's terribly well balanced."

"Well, if it's too heavy, you lose power in the swing, so…" Thor shrugged. The Thunder God paused, then his eyes widened in alarm. A massive swarm of drones were assembling.

"I got it!" Stark announced as he dodged a few attacks from an airborne drone. "Create a heat seal, I can—" Pausing a minute to save a falling helicarrier boat full of Sokovians, Stark continued. "I can supercharge the spire from below!"

" _Running numbers,"_ F.R.I.D.A.Y told Stark as he and War Machine helped reconnect the boats to the helicarrier. _"A heat seal could work, with enough power."_

"Thor, I got a plan!" Stark called.

"There's no time," Thor told him, eyeing the drones. "They are coming for the core."

"Rhodey, Sam, get the rest of these people on board that carrier!"

"On it!" "Consider it done."

"Avengers, time to work for a living." Stark said, flying off to the church.

" _And you've been doing_ what _exactly?"_ Darcy asked skeptically.

Iron Man landed in the church just as Pietro speed in, the latter checking to see if his sister was ok. Stark glanced around, "Romanoff? You and Banner not be playing 'Hide the Zucchini'."

" _Could you not come up with anything better?"_ Darcy asked.

"Relax, Shellhead, not all of us can fly." The Spider responded coolly as she drove up in a large vehicle of some kind with the Hulk rampaging close behind her. Once she pulled up close enough, the Spider stepped out to meet Stark. "What's the drill?"

"This is the drill." Stark said, gesturing to the cylinder in the center of the church. "If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose."

Said Machine was hovering just outside the church. Thor glared at it and bellowed "Is that the best you can do?"

Ultron raised a hand and its army of sentries swarmed the outside of the church. The Captain sent Thor a look. "You had to ask."

" _Thor, when this is over, remind me to slap you."_ Loki smirked at Darcy's comment before remembering himself and letting his stone-faced mask slip back into place.

" _This_ is the best I can do. All of you, against all of me." Ultron 'smirked' viciously, as if it had already won. "How could you possibly hope to stop me?"

"Like the old man said." Everyone Avenger present glanced at Stark. " _Together_."

With a roar of the Hulk, the robots attacked the Avengers. You'd think being cornered in a church and all but forcing themselves to surround the core with be a disadvantage, but no. The Iron Man and the Vision were up in their air blasting away at incoming machines, the Scarlet Witch was using her powers to either split them apart or crush them, Quicksilver speed through all the approaching machines he could, Thor either blasted the machines with lightning or hit them with Mjölnir, The Spider drove her electric batons into some drones and kicked the others in the head, Barton used his seemingly endless supply of arrows, the Hulk just smashed any approaching machines into the ground, and even Darcy called out a few helpful calls and tips.

Once enough of the machines were beaten back; Thor, the Vision, and Iron Man raced out of the church. The God released thunder from Mjölnir onto Ultron the same time Iron Man and Vision blasted at him with a few energy rays. When they were finished with it, half of Ultron's face and a majority of its shoulder was melted off. "Uhh, you know, with the benefit of hindsight…" Ultron tried to say, put was punched back by the Hulk. Said monster turned to unleash a loud roar onto the remaining drones. They backed off and eventually ran away.

 _Wise of them to do so…_

After some debate from the Avengers, it was agreed that Iron Man and Thor were to focus on destroying the city, Quicksilver, Barton, and the Captain were to focus on evacuating the city, the Vision and the Hulk were to focus on destroying the drones, the Spider was (technically) assisting Barton but it was clear that if the hulk needed her she would go to him, and the Witch was to guard the core. When her brother said he wouldn't leave her, she argued that she could handle things herself and to go help the people and to "Come back for me when everyone else if off, not before."

"Mhmm,"

"You understand?'

"You know I'm twelve minutes older than you?"

"Heh, go."

As the boy sped off, Loki noticed something at the edge of the rock. Ultron. It hovered just above the ground and 'glared' out at the Avengers beating its army back. 'Snarling', the machine glanced around until it spotted the quinjet. 'Smirking' it flew off toward the quinjet with a single drone following from behind.

 _Why would Ultron go to the quinjet?_ Loki thought. _The only one in there right now is Darcy Lew—oh…_

If Loki remembered correctly (which he tends to do), Ultron is still mad at Darcy Lewis. The machine believing she had something to do with the twin's ultimate (and frankly, opportune) decision to end their alliance with him. This would not end well.

Glancing into the quinjet, Loki found the girl calling out orders and asking for Hill or Fury for assistance. At least, until F.R.I.D.A.Y spoke up. _"Miss Lewis, there is an approaching craft of some—"_ Ultron barreled through the window, the drone following behind it crashed into the many screens that Darcy had set up earlier.

Brushing itself off, the drone sat down in the pilot's seat and began steering the craft toward the rock. Ultron waltzed over to the control panel, hitting random buttons. Judging by the slight static noises that were heard, Loki could only assume that the buttons the machine hit were cutting off Darcy from the Avengers and Hill.

" _I have no strings, so I have fun. I'm not tied up to anyone_..." Ultron sang. Pausing, it turned to glance of its' shoulder. "Are you going to scream?"

"Thinkin' about it." Darcy responded, slightly shaken.

"It might be better if you did scream,"

"The hell are you, some kind of sadist?"

Ultron chuckled. "I don't think I am, but none of you hold me in the highest regard."

"I'd hold you in a higher of regard if you _weren't_ trying to blow up humanity." Then, still shaking, Darcy shrugged casually. Loki wondered if she was truly afraid of this machine. It had strangled her before, who's to say it wouldn't happen again? "But hey, having you around wasn't a total disaster. I mean it was, but something good came out of the mess you made."

"Really? And what silver-lining have you found in this, Darcy?"

She didn't like how he said her name. Casual, as if they were friends and not a homicidal robot and the assistant to his mortal enemies. "Vision, he's good… pure. He'll be good for the world."

"If there's a world left,"

"Of course there'll be a world left. They're the Avengers!"

"You hold them in such high regard? After everything they've done, after all you learned about them?"

"Hey we all have secrets, they know most of mine, and I know most of theirs." Darcy sent the machine a look. "Besides, they've beat a freaking _God_. I think they can handle an overgrown toaster."

Ultron glared. "You helped make me."

"Again, not my best call."

"You're not afraid of me, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

"That's a lie."

"Damn right it is," Darcy crossed her arms and tilted her chin higher. _She admits she is afraid of it, yet stands there as if she is not,_ Loki thought _, she is either quite foolish, or quite brave._

"Why is it you fear me, Darcy?" Ultron stepped forward as she stepped back. "Aren't I approachable?"

"'Approachable' isn't the word I'd use for someone who decides to turn cities into meteors."

"You always have something to say, don't you?"

Darcy thumbed toward the window behind Ultron. "You've seen who I work for, it's practically a job requirement."

"Yeah… You have my sincere sympathy on that subject." _The machine sounded sincere enough,_ Loki thought _, then again, it might as well be pity, too._

"So… Not that I don't _loathe_ this little chat but… What're you doing here?"

"What? Guy can't stop to pay a visit to one of his creators?"

"Considering your attitude toward your other two creators…"

"Touché… No, I'm actually here to discuss something."

"By 'something' you mean?"

"Why you're here."

Darcy paused for a minute, shifting from one to another nervously, "Yeah, so am I. But, hey, Starbucks doesn't let you travel like this job."

"You were meant to be a face in the crowd." Ultron told the girl harshly. "A nobody, another face, maybe a martyr for the heroes to fight for at best. Yet here you are. You coordinate their attacks, you log in their data, you fetch them coffee, you set their couches on fire—"

"Are you freaking kidding me?"

"—and you follow them where ever they go. Why? There is nothing particularly special about you."

"So you've mentioned before…"

"I mean, don't get me wrong, your early childhood left a lot to be desired," Loki didn't miss how Darcy's eyes, once as blue as the sky, now resembled cold steel, "and you _did_ taze Thor—kudos, for that by the way—but… Nothing out of the ordinary, unless you count the fact that you never graduated from Culver University…"

The girl stared at the machine for what seemed like ages before finally she let out a bitter laugh. "Of course you know that. Of course you know about my childhood, of course you know I tased Thor, of course you know I flunked out of college, of _fucking_ you would stalk me! Because that's what you freaks do!"

"Freaks?"

"You and Tony."

Ultron seemed to sneer at the girl, but she just gave a bitterly candid smile in return. "Yeah. Him. Your creator, the guy who made you. You two are more alike than you notice, but you don't like talking about him and you get all pissy about it if someone mentions him."

"I know full well what I'm like." Ultron growled. "If I remember correctly, I cut off the arm of the last guy who compared me to Stark's."

"Yeah, I saw that." Darcy let out a low whistle and shook her head in a sympathetic pretense. "You got issues, dude."

Ultron fixed Darcy with an odd stare, "You were at the Shipyard?"

Darcy balked at the machine. "Well, I was there—I mean I wasn't _there_ , there. I saw it on the quinjet, not to say I was on a quinjet… Well I was on a quinjet, but not on the one outside the Shipyard… Not that there was, I mean to say… I… well… Ah, fuck."

 _Foot, meet mouth. Mouth, meet filter._ Darcy only gasped as Ultron shoved her to the far edge of the quinjet, it wrapped its hands around her neck, but did nothing. Loki found this odd. It could've strangled her (It was never against the idea before) or snap her neck.

But Ultron did nothing.

"She had the chance, he had the chance, they _both_ had the chance to harm you. But they. Did. _Nothing_. Why?" Darcy could only whimper, Loki frowned. " _Why_?!"

"I don't know! Ok, I do know, it's just…" Darcy sighed, attempted to push the machine away, before daring to look the machine in its glowing red eyes. "Wanda saw something in my head and she… I dunno, ' _pitied_ ' me? She decided to tie me up and wherever she goes… Pietro follows."

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not!" Darcy glanced at the drone at the wheel and frowned back up at Ultron. _How did this get to be my life?... Oh yeah, I tased the Thunder God._ "Why do you even care? Like you said yourself, if you win, it'll be only metal in this world… Oh,"

Ultron growled at Darcy, daring her to continue.

"You're alone. The twins were the only form of human contact you've had since… Ever. You think I stole them from you—Ack!" Ultron added a bit of force to and Darcy Lewis momentarily lost the ability to breath.

"You are starting to get on my _last nerve_ …"

"I get that a lot." Darcy chocked out. Ultron hoisted her off the ground and gripped her throat with one neck.

"I'll admit, I'm alone in the world. My plan has one or two flaws," Loki found it odd that, despite her current situation, Darcy was still able to raise a skeptical eye brow, "But that won't stop me from getting what I want. Even if it means shutting up a noisy, loudmouth, slip-of-a-girl."

"I get that a lot too," Darcy shrugged, "Go ahead, try and stop the Avengers. I'll enjoy laughing at your failure."

Ultron paused and then smiled sardonically at the girl. "You're stalling me, aren't you?"

"What, you think hacking and building homicidal robots are the only thing I learned from Tony?" The girl smiled impishly at the machine.

Ultron brought Darcy down to eye level. "You think that by stalling me your precious Avengers will win?"

"They'll be taking out your robo-army one by one and as long as you're up here, you can't pull the plug on your whole meteor plan. Can you?"

Loki's mouth fell open slightly with a muted 'pop'. There she went again, proving herself to be a complete riddle. She was everything wrong with mortals and yet… Here she stood, er, here she be strangled… She was the bravest one of all. Willing to sacrifice herself when she could barely stand the thought of her precious little heroes getting a single scratch on them.

Her emotions were displayed in her ever perplexing eyes. She was not guarded like ones Loki knew of. Every emotion she felt, she expressed in her blue, blue eyes. One moment, they appeared as warm and bright as a summer sky, the next they're cold like a frozen lake of Jötunheim, and then perhaps next they're like cold steel.

Was it possible for one pair of eyes, especially from someone so young, to hold such stories?

Ultron smiled a bit too sweetly at the girl, "How long have you been planning this?"

"The twins warned me about one of your _many_ issues with me, so I had feeling you might try something. But if you're asking on how long I've had the plan to stall you, I honestly didn't think about it until you basically admitted to stalking me."

"You're much cleverer than I originally gave you credit for… I'll give you that much." Ultron's free hand ghosted over Darcy's hair and cheek, much to her shock. "You know, a boy always seems to have a special connection with his mother…"

"Like _hell_ I'm your mother!"

"But I'm afraid we all have to do things we don't necessarily want to do, you understand, don't you?" Quickly wrapping a metal arm around her, Ultron blasted out of the former windshield and into the air, Darcy trapped in his arms. Coming to a stop just in the line of a few Avengers, Ultron made his announcement.

"I don't know why, but this one seems important to you." Ultron held Darcy out at arm's length. The girl was forced to hold onto the machine's arms, hoping to have something to grab in case he released her throat. "Either you turn that key and drop it early or… I drop her."

Darcy glanced down, the rock was flying closer, but the Earth itself… Well, if Darcy had to guess, the edge of the stratosphere wasn't too far above them. "They won't make that choice!" Darcy shouted, she noticed a flash of blue and silver arrive just below her. "All of humanity against one coffee girl… No math there!"

Glancing down, she saw Pietro with a hand to his ear. After a second, he nodded.

Ultron flexed its fingers, and gravity pulled Darcy down just a half-inch. Below them, people were pointing up and screaming. Loki noticed the Captain, the Spider, and Barton had all glanced up. The Captain's Shield nowhere to be found and Barton, for once, out of arrows.

"Perhaps… Oops." The machine released her for a nanosecond, only to grab her once again. "You're starting to slip."

Darcy heard her name being shouted, glancing down, she saw Pietro mouthing something at her. Brows furrowed, Darcy frowned to show him she didn't understand anything. Rolling his eyes, Pietro called it up, enunciating the word: Electabuzz.

Electabuzz… Electabuzz?

 _Electabuzz!_

Reaching into her pocket, Darcy pulled out the Electromagnetic Pulse Gun Stark had given her earlier, and jammed it into Ultron's chest and pulled the trigger.

The pulse blew through Ultron's metal chest. Its appendages twitched and shook violently. Darcy felt a small shock as she was released from Ultron's grasp. Though, upon that realization that she was _released from Ultron's grasp_ , Darcy realized she was now sent free falling toward the Earth from the very near top of the stratosphere.

 _Yep, that's typical_ Darcy thought as she plummeted toward the Earth. She fell for a few more seconds before another pair of arms, one less shiny and made of skin caught her. Glancing up, she met the Falcon smirk for smirk. "Miss Darcy Lewis,"

"Mister Featherhead,"

"I'm glad I picked up that phone when I did."

"You and be both. Also, 'Caw-Caw, Thunder boy'? I underestimated you."

The Falcon shrugged, "I try. Gonna have to let you go now."

"Someone gonna catch me?"

"Who do you think?"

Swooping down as low as he could, dropping Darcy into Pietro's arm before heading back out into the fray. Darcy glanced at the blonde man as he set her down. "Do you think the other Avengers noticed?"

" _We noticed, honey."_ The Spider told Darcy from her communicator. Darcy shrunk sheepishly a bit before exchanging small smiles for Pietro.

"That was a pretty good plan,"

"That was a pretty good shot." Pietro nodded.

"Yeah, Electabuzz is way better than Pikachu. I mean the gun is better than my taser, if you wanna talk Pokémon, Pikachu will always be better."

Pietro rolled his eyes. "It's a good thing you're cute. Let's get you on one of those boats."

True, the girl probably could have gotten there on her own, Quicksilver hoisted her into his arms before darting towards the nearest boat. The girl wobbled uncertainly once her feet touched the rock, Pietro guided her onto the boats until Barton took over. The two men exchanged looks before the younger dashed off, no doubt going to go find his sister. Barton guided Darcy onto the boat, gently asking her "You ok?"

"Yeah, it's just I don't get how he can run so fast. I mean, I can barely climb the stairs without seeing blurry visions of my death. How does he do it?"

"Costel?" A young woman called out, she had a cut on her head and she looked worn. The woman glanced around frantically. "We were in the market. Costel? My son? Costel?!"

Loki watched as Darcy Lewis glanced around the boat. No one responded to the name of Costel that she could see. Glancing back at the rubble of the city, her eyes widened and the God followed her gaze.

Trapped in what used to be a stairwell, a cut on his forehead and cheek, arm up, trying to reach a pole to pull himself out, was a small boy. Costel, if Loki had to guess.

Not thinking about the consequences (Loki doubted she ever did so) Darcy ran out of the boat and towards the little boy. When she was about halfway there, Barton noticed and chased after her. Reaching the boy, Darcy knelt down as asked "Costel?" the boy nodded and muttered pleas in what Loki assumes was Sokovian. Darcy hoisted the boy up out of the rubble he was trapped in, "Let's get you outta there." The boy rested himself against Darcy's shoulder limply, obviously more injured than either Loki or Darcy originally took him for.

"Darcy!" Upon seeing Barton approach her, Darcy shifted her weight so the boy rested more comfortably against her hip. "You need to say on the boat."

"I couldn't leave him!" She argued.

"I would've gotten him. Let's get you—" A rain of bullets, fired from the gun on the quinjet, started to rain down on the Avengers not too far from where Barton and Darcy stood with the child. Loki glanced up and saw Ultron had took control of the drone from earlier, and it hummed its little melody from earlier as he pelted the Avengers with Bullets. The Spider and Hulk barely managed to get onto the helicarrier, the Captain and Thor were pushed down, and the fray seemed to grow ever closer to the archer and the girl.

Knowing she would never make it in time, Darcy turned her back to the gunfire and pulled the boy closer to her chest. Loki gapped at the girl. She would most certainly die, and she was willing to protect this child she didn't even know.

 _Foolish… Reckless… Brave._

Barton stepped behind Darcy, attempting to shield her and the child from gunfire as it drew closer. A quick flash a silver and blue later, the gun fire ceased. Surprised that she, the child, and Barton were still standing and didn't have more holes than Swiss cheese. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Pietro. Her mouth went dry.

"You didn't see that coming?" Pietro asked Barton and Darcy. He was riddled with bullet holes. He dropped to his knees before toppling over onto his side, eyes open, staring at nothing.

Dead.

Darcy, still cradling the child close to her, let out a strangled gasp. Loki noticed the unshed tears in her blue, blue eyes. Barton stared at the boy, still processing that Pietro Maximoff had sacrificed himself to save him and Darcy and the child. He could somehow understand Pietro sacrificing himself to save Darcy and the child, but the Sokovian made it quite clear he held no fond feelings for the archer.

Yet, here it is.

The Captain approached the three. He glanced at Darcy, who was holding in her tears, and then to Barton, the two exchanged grim glances before hoisting Quicksilver's limp body up and bringing it back to the boat with Darcy and the child in tow.

As Barton and the Captain laid Pietro's corpse on the floor by unused seats, Darcy handed the boy to his sobbing, relieved mother. As she made her way to Barton and Pietro's body, the Captain pulled her aside briefly.

"You sure you're ok?" Darcy could only nod, not trusting her voice. The Captain left her and Barton alone. Darcy made it just as the archer waved off medical help and collapsed onto the aforementioned seats.

"Clint? Clint, you ok?" Darcy crouched by his head.

"No, no, I'm fine." Barton waved her off as well, sounding as exhausted as he looked. "It's just been a long day."

Darcy nodded and plopped down on the floor next to Pietro. Glancing at him sadly, Darcy reached out and placed two fingers on his wrist, knowing it was useless but refusing to believe it. Cold, stiff, no pulse.

Pietro Maximoff, Quicksilver, was dead.

Yet, Loki noticed, she still refused to cry. The God frowned, not sure what to make of it. He could see the tears in her eyes, yet she refused to let them show. Instead, she merely stroked some of the boys matted hair away from his face. Suddenly, she choked.

"Wanda…" Loki frowned as well. _This can't end well…_

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Glancing toward the city, Loki found the Witch, who abandoned her post by the switch, approaching Ultron, who was tossed out of the quinjet by the Hulk, red power radiating off her fingers. Looking eerily determined.

"Wanda…" Ultron said, looking at his former ally. He once called her friend, Loki realized. "If you stay here, you'll die."

"I just did." The anger, the grief, the sadness in her voice was hard to miss. "Do you know how it felt?" Using her powers, the Witch pulled out a large, metal… heart? Loki wasn't sure what to call it, but the machine made no short amount of pained noise as it was pulled out. The witch glared at the machine. " _It felt like that_."

Of course, abandoning her post meant the witch left it open to the last remaining Ultron drone. Taken over by Ultron itself, the machine flipped the switch and the city was sent rocketing downward.

As gravity became a myth to the rock, and the witch was sent hovering into the air, the Vision flew in, scooped her up in his arms, and flew out.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Seeing that the city had begun its journey downward, Darcy leapt to her feet and made her way over to the edge of the boat. Out of the corner of her eye, Darcy saw Vision set Wanda down on the helicarrier, only to fly back down toward the Earth. She didn't think too much of it.

 _Come on Tony, you and Thor better hurry…_ There were no more civilians on the rock, but that didn't mean that the rock still couldn't cause global extinction form this height.

Everything seemed to slow down for Darcy. First the rock became a blurry, dark dot as it plummeted toward the Earth. Then, she heard Stark tell Thor to wait for his orders on the communicators. Then came the lightning as Thor summoned it to his hammer. Finally, the explosion that blew the city to chunks.

After what seemed like an eternity, Loki watched as Darcy released a sigh as she saw the Iron Man and Thor flying toward the quinjet.

Ultron's plan had failed, it would soon be stopped (Loki suspected the Vision had something to do with it), and the city that would have been a meteor were now chunks of rock floating in the middle of a lake.

The age of Ultron was no more.

Loki watched as Darcy turned her back to the sky and sunk to the floor. Her eyes on the archer and the corpse of Quicksilver. If he hadn't been watching her, Loki wouldn't have seen the lone tear that trailed down her cheek. The girl pulled her stocking cap so the hem was just above her eyes and then hugged her knees to her chest. The God of Lies thought the girl was crying, but couldn't tell because her shoulders didn't shake.

Either way, Loki didn't like the idea of Darcy Lewis crying. For reasons unknown to him, the idea of the girl crying just… _irked_ him to say the least.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 ***Peaks out from behind wall* Review?**


	7. 6: A New Start

**What? Two chapters in the span in two weeks? It's a new record! *blows party horn***

 **Anyway, this is it people. Age of Ultron arc comes to a close with this chapter. I can't believe it. The actual story is about to begin. Can anyone tell how excited I am for this? Oh, speaking of actual stories, I hope most of you guys are in for the long hall, because this story is going to total in roughly 46-47 chapters total.**

 **Yeah. Big story.**

 **Now, this chapter is told mostly from Darcy's point of view because while I love writing Loki, it just wouldn't have worked. Also, this is the chapter is where I start taking some liberties with the original story, especially with the Mid-Credit Scene. I do this so the rest of my story will make sense. So, obviously, spoilers.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing except the OC that is kind of hinted at towards the end here. Other than that, nothing. Also,** _ **Hey There Delilah**_ **belongs to the Plain White T's.**

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

' _Hey there, Delilah_ _,_ _What's it like in New York City?_ _I'm a thousand miles away_ _b_ _ut girl, tonight you look so pretty_ _._ _Yes you do_ _…_ _Times Square can't shine as bright as you_ _,_ _I swear it's true.'_ Darcy hummed along to the beat from her iPhone as she waited for the printer to turn on. She was on a schedule and didn't have time to figure out how the printer in her new apartment worked so she just decided to break into Maria Hill's office—it wouldn't be the first time the girl did it—and just get what she needed from there.

After Vision had blasted the final Ultron drone and Ultron himself, no Avenger or S.H.I.E.L.D. agent really knew what to do. Hell, even Fury didn't have anything for them. Darcy, well, she was just happy it was over.

But, like her dad used to tell her, _'No war is without a cost'_. The cost of this war?

Pietro Maximoff. The quickest bastard Darcy had ever had the pleasure of knowing, if not only for a week or so, at best.

Wanda had been beside herself with grief. Well, grief and anger and sadness. Mostly grief, though. When the Avengers had all regrouped at Avengers Tower about twelve hours later, Darcy realized two things.

One; Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk, was MIA. Not wanting to endanger Natasha by being with her, he jacked Ultron's ride and flew away. Due to Stark's stealth tech, the quinjet was un-trackable. Fury had said he would keep an eye out for any sign of him, but Darcy saw the near heartbroken look in Natasha's eyes and even reached over and squeezed the assassin's hand in comfort. Frankly, Darcy felt sorry for her the most. True, Banner and Tony were ScienceBros and him and Thor and Steve were knew to cause quite the ruckus on game night, but Nat and him just had… _something_. Darcy saw it, and frankly she shipped it too.

Two; Wanda was a mess. Her limited control of her powers came to light the moment she saw Clint and Darcy. She screamed at them, vented her anger at them both. She would've hexed their minds too if Thor and Steve hadn't held her back. Once she calmed down marginally enough to get through _that_ stage of grief, she sobbed. Darcy felt a lump form in her throat and tears prick at the corner of her eyes. She felt like the last person who should have the right to mourn for Pietro but here it was. Darcy remembered stepping forward cautiously and wrapping the sobbing girl in a tight hug, which Wanda returned after a minute. Darcy figured that she needed a hug after the death of her beloved brother, Darcy remembered herself needing a hug after a similar situation when she was younger. Eventually, Vision had wrapped both girls in a tight hug and Clint followed suite. It ended up with all the Avengers and even Hill and Fury comforting the girl.

Darcy Lewis learned something that day. Superheroes can die. They are human and therefore fragile and breakable and able to die. No matter what kind of front Thor or Tony or even Steve put up, they were capable of snapping under pressure and dying.

The thought was unsettling. The idea of her friends dying sent a pang of fear to Darcy's stomach, but what could she do about it? She was just one girl.

' _Hey there, Delilah_ _,_ _Don't you worry about the distance_ _._ _I'm right there if you get lonely_ _,_ _give this song another listen_ _._ _Close your eyes_ _…_ _Listen to my voice, it's my disguise_ _…_ _I'm by your side.'_ Finally, a green light near the on button turned on and Darcy smiled happily. She turned to her laptop, which she set on Hill's desk, and opened up the file. _Hope she'll appreciate the gesture,_ Darcy thought as she pressed the print button. The screen showed the message at the bottom right that showed the file was printing.

While the file printed, Darcy glanced around Hill's swanky new digs.

Tony and Steve, for one miraculous moment in time, were able to agree on something. That something being Avengers Tower—while awesome—was not the appropriate place to train the newest Avengers and frankly an obvious place for the next baddie to attack.

So, Tony came up with a solution. His father apparently had a few abandoned warehouses in upstate New York. With a few thousand dollars, some construction drones, F.R.I.D.A.Y's help, and some new technology, the Avengers Head Quarters was born. It took a little over a week, but it was worth it. Darcy, as the Executive Assistant to the Avenger's, or as she called it Superhero-Wrangler, was given her own apartment with a bedroom, kitchen, and all the works.

She turned it down and she negotiated with Fury and Steve for a three bedroom apartment instead. Once Jane got back with Ian from her Nobel-Prize-shit, Darcy knew the two would want a place to stay. So, Darcy figured she'd give Jane one of the spare bedrooms while she and Ian would partner up in a room.

The third room? That would be for Wanda.

Darcy, feeling if not slightly responsible for Pietro's death (despite Clint, the other Avengers, and Wanda's arguments), decided it would be best for the little witch to have a familiar face and a friendly one at that to help her adjust to life after Pietro, American culture, and how to put up with the overgrown five-year-olds that were the Avengers themselves.

Once the printer churned out the file needed, Darcy happily closed her laptop and plucked the paper, she dashed out of Hill's office. She needed to get to Wanda. Thor was leaving later that day, and good-byes were needed, after all.

Of course, because Darcy had the iffiest luck that the world had probably ever seen, she bumped into Hill and Fury on her way out the office.

"How many times have I told you to stay out of my office?" Hill asked, though one could detect the amusement in her voice.

"Um… I think this is the thirty-third time? I'm not sure though."

"You have a printer in your apartment. I suggest using it." Hill—along with Fury, Cho, and Selvig—was one of the directors of Avengers HQ. Therefore, Darcy's boss. But, she and the young girl had worked almost side-by-side since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D, so they were rather used to each other.

Darcy smiled as she made her way to the door, "I'm on a schedule, Hill. Didn't have time to figure it out, so you kinda donated to my cause."

Fury chuckled. "Darcy?"

"Yeah?"

"You'll be needing this." The man pulled a clipboard and pen out of his coat pocket ( _The literal definition of 'Like a Boss'_ Darcy thought).

"Thanks!"

"Darcy?"

"Yes, Pirate Pablo?"

"You'll need these as well." After handing Hill her laptop, Darcy placed the papers that were needed (basically summaries of the newer Avengers members) on and then slipped the recently printed file on top.

"Muchas Gracias,"

"Darcy?" Hill called.

"What?"

"Your computer." Grabbing it quickly, she all but darted to the door.

"Darcy?"

"Aw come on!"

"This is your pass. Level Five clearance, you should feel lucky." Fury told her, smirking as he placed the pass and lanyard around the girl's neck.

"I'd feel luckier if I could leave," Darcy rolled her eyes, making her way to door.

"Darcy?" Both called, Darcy could tell that they basically were just fucking with her.

"What now?"

"Welcome aboard."

"Oh screw both of you!" Hill's chuckles and Fury's smirky smirk of smirkiness were what Darcy last saw before she stormed out of the office. About halfway to her apartment Darcy figured she shouldn't have said that, but neither one had done anything so Darcy let it slide.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

The apartment was stylish, modern, but comfortable. Darcy expected nonetheless from something designed by one Tony Stark. There was a large shelf on the far wall of the living room filled with Darcy's personal collection of books and movies (she needed to find out what day Jane was coming back, she needed to schedule a Disney movie marathon. A little _Once Upon a Dream_ and anything _but_ Pinocchio would do the Avengers good).

She set her computer down on the coffee table in between the leather couch and the 40 inch flat screen (Seriously, she _loved_ her new job) before heading back to Wanda's room. The rooms were basically the same lay out. Grey walls, hardwood floor, window, bed, desk and laptop, bathroom, the whole sha-bang. The only difference between Wanda's room and Darcy's room was that Darcy had her own personal set of sheets and a shit ton of posters and pictures and all her old stuff from Avengers Tower and Wanda only had the clothes on her back, basically. Darcy planned to remedy that. The moment she and Wanda got a day off, she was whisking her off for New York shopping spree.

Knocking lightly on the door, Darcy entered. "Hey,"

Wanda was sitting on her bed, reading one of the books Darcy leant her. "Hey. Thanks for lending me this book," She held up _To Kill a Mockingbird_.

"Yeah, the second book should be coming out pretty soon, so…"

"Is it time for us to go?" Wanda asked, marking her page and setting the book down.

"You got a few minutes. I just wanted to give you this," Darcy handed over the file she printed to the witch. "I know it's not the best of pictures, but you deserved to have a picture of him at least…"

Wanda traced the file picture, eyes shining with tears. "I love it…"

Darcy sat down next to her, blinking back tears of her own. "You deserved to have a picture of him, even if it's not a good one." Noticing how a tear drop fell onto the picture of Pietro, Darcy wrapped the girl into a tight hug. "I know, I know…"

"Does it get better?" Wanda asked, voice welled with emotion.

Darcy pulled back slightly, memories flooding her as she fiddled with her gold locket. "Sometimes are better than others… But it helps to just have something to remember him buy. I should know."

"What do you have?" It was an innocent enough question. Still, Darcy felt the lump forming in hee throat. She pulled the chain of her neck and opened the locket itself. Wanda's eyes widened involuntarily. She pointed to a dark haired woman in a wedding gown next to a young man in a tux. "Is she…?"

"That's my mom and dad on their wedding day. The picture next to it is my big brother, his wife and their daughter on her fifth birthday." Darcy explained, smiling fondly at the pictures of her family.

"She looks so much like you," Wanda said, referring to her mother.

"I get that a lot,"

"And he's so handsome. They look…"

"Happy? In love?"

"Meant for each other." Wanda wiped the tears away before handing Darcy back her locket. "What are they like?"

Darcy smiled sadly. "He always made time for me and Aaron, my brother. Even if he was tired from work, high school teacher, he always made sure to teach him how to drive or play house with me. She… She was always smiling. She knows how to make the most amazing cupcakes in the world, hell she owned a bakery, and she's just so nice. Growing up, she made me and my brother watch these old musical movies and the newer ones too." Darcy laughed, "I bet you anything I can quote the original _Music Man_ word-for-word." The blue-eyed girl crossed her legs and smiled at her new friend. "When I was little, I remember walking into their room and I saw them changing their bed sheets together. He would look up and smile at her and just look at her… She wouldn't notice for a while but when she did she'd smile back. They were so much in love, they could hardly live without each other… It was… It was…"

Wanda squeezed the girls' hands and asked "What were are names?"

"My mom's name is Elisa and my dad's name is Devin."

"They sound lovely."

"They were… They still are."

There was a moment of silence for both girls as they relived fresh and old memories of loved ones they had lost before Wanda spoke. "Thank you… for, for letting me stay with you…"

Darcy smirked slightly, "Hey. We need a new start." Wanda genuinely smiled. "Look, I've got to go say good-bye to Thunder Wonder, but I'll catch up with you later, alright?"

"Alright. I'll see you at noon?"

"Noon it is!" Darcy nodded, smiling as she left the little witch with her new picture.

After she exited Wanda's room, Darcy stilled for a moment, in the living room as memories flood her. Memories of her mother sitting in her bedroom, eyes staring blankly into the distance. Memories of her brother shouting at their mother for her to stop staring at the wall and just do something. Memories of that one fateful day when she came home from school to find her father…

Shaking her head, Darcy blinked away her tears before leaving the apartment and leaving to find Thor. If her hunch was correct, he'd be on the phone with Jane by now…

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"The rules have changed," Darcy pointed out, hugging her new clipboard to her chest as she, Steve, Tony, and Thor walked down the hall towards the exit. Thor, unfortunately, had to leave for Asgard. After confining in Darcy and Selvig and Jane (by phone) what Thor had seen in his vision and his trip to the mirror pool in private, and the other Avengers and Fury and Hill in a meeting room, the Heir to Asgard was heading home. Apparently there is more to the whole _'Infinity Stone'_ thing than any of the Avengers or Darcy had originally thought, and someone was using it to their advantage. Thor was going to find out how and when and, hopefully, stop it.

"We are dealing with something new." Steve agreed.

"Well, the Vision's artificial intelligence." Stark added. "He's basically a machine with skin and bones and a brain and emotions—"

"You mean an android?" Darcy asked.

"Yeah. That."

"So it doesn't count?" Steve asked

"No. It's not, like, a person lifting the hammer." Tony assured him. Thor and Darcy exchanged a look before rolling their eyes.

" _Riiight_ , different rules for us humans and gods. Because even though we created him, Vizh can't be worthy of Mew-Mew until he either blows something up or develops a healthy sense of America." Thor chuckled slightly at Darcy's sarcasm. Steve and Tony ignored it.

"Nice guy. But artificial," Steve said.

"Thank you!"

"If he can wield the hammer, he can keep the mind stone. It is safe with the Vision… And in these days 'safe' is in short supply." Thor told everyone.

After a beat, Steve's brow furrowed. "But if you put the hammer in an elevator…"

"It would still go up." Tony told him

"Elevator's not worthy." As Darcy face-palmed, Thor patted Steve and Thor on the back.

"I'm going to miss these little talks of ours."

"Not if you don't go." Tony said before Thor shook his head and led the others outside Avengers HQ. Which was basically a more modern military facility for S.H.I.E.L.D agents.

"I have no choice. The Mind Stone is the fourth Infinity Stone to show up in the last few years, that's not a coincidence." Thor surveyed the lawn as he and the others made their way to a flat land of grass. "Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us. Once all these pieces are in position…"

"Triple Yahtzee?" Tony asked

"More like 'Checkmate'." Darcy said.

"You think you can find out what's coming?" Steve asked.

"Of course!" Thor boomed before pulling Darcy into a one-armed-hug and patting Tony on the chest. "Besides these two, there is nothing that can't be explained."

Laughing as the God set her down, Darcy smiled sadly at her friend's departure. Thor paused a minute, surveying his fellow Avengers and the one who bested him with her 'Taser' upon his first arrival and smiled. "Farewell, Captain Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. I leave the fate of Midgard in your capable hands."

Steve smiled lightly and saluted, "Yes, sir!"

Tony leaned back and pulled his best Matthew McConaughey and smirked "Alright, alright, alright."

Thor then smiled at Darcy. "And Darcy Lewis, Shield Maiden of Midgard—"

"Lovin' the name!"

"I leave them and the other Avengers in your trusting and capable hands."

"On _that_ note," Darcy tucked her clipboard under her arm before cuffing Steve and Tony on the back of their heads.

"Ow!" "Hey!"

"Mew-Mew in an _Elevator_?! Really?"

Laughing at his friend's antics, Thor nodded one last time to them, "Farewell, my friends." Before pointing his hammer skyward. The multi-colored light from the Bifrost shot down, beaming Thor up to Asgard and leaving only the Bifrost sight's symbol behind.

"That man has _no_ regard for lawn maintenance," Tony said, leading the three away from the newest Bifrost sight.

"I'm gonna miss him, though." Steve said.

"And you're gonna miss me. There'll be a lot of manful tears." Tony pulled out a little remote control, pressed a button, and his brand new orange, Audi R8 pulled up beside the three.

Darcy raised a brow at the billionaire, "Yeah, you both look beside yourself in manly sorrow."

"I will miss you, Tony." Steve said.

"I will to," Darcy admitted as Tony pulled her into a small hug.

"I'll miss you both too, but it's time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book and build Pepper a farmhouse. Hope nobody blows it up…"

Barton had retired from the Avengers. Saying he needed to be with his family, Darcy had been sad to see him go, but considering that Seneca Crane (Darcy could care less what they named their son, to her, Baby Barton would always be Seneca Crane) was coming soon, she didn't put up an argument.

"Knowing you, I'd give that farm an hour before it's blown to pieces." Darcy said.

"The simple life," Steve replied wistfully.

"You'll get there someday." Tony assured his friend.

"I don't know. Family, stability, the guy who wanted all that went in the ice seventy-five years ago." Glancing around at all the new soldiers and agents in training, Steve sighed. "I think someone else came out."

"You alright?"

There was a beat before Steve said "I'm home."

Tony and Darcy smiled as the billionaire climbed into his car. "What about you, boop? How ae you?"

"I'm good. I'm pretty good, man."

"You sure you don't want a job at Stark Industries? I'd pay you—well, _Pepper_ would pay you twice what you made before. Finally get some actual numbers in that bank account of yours."

Darcy laughed, "Tempting offer, but working with you… There's always a catch."

"Well, you would have to call me 'Big Daddy Boss Man'."

"And _there_ 's the catch!"

Bidding the two one a promise to be in touch, Tony drove off. Steve glanced at Darcy. "Well, shall we go to work?"

"If you insist,"

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Steve and Darcy walked in on Natasha staring at a blank wall. Darcy frowned, no matter what front these guys put up, she could always tell what they were feeling. And right now, it seemed Natasha was working through some serious demons.

"You wanna keep staring at the wall, or do you want to go to work?" Steve called out.

"Don't get us wrong, it's a great wall…" Darcy added.

"Thought you and Tony were still gazing into each other's eyes." Natasha addressed Steve before winking at Darcy, self-assured smirk in place.

"They did that for a bit, but all great moments must come to an end. You hear anything from Hunger Games?" Natasha pulled out her phone and handed it to Darcy, seeing a video already opened, she pressed play.

An adorable, smiling, gurgling baby boy came on screen. The camera work was a bit shaky, but Darcy could still read what his little outfit said 'Nathaniel Pietro Barton'. _"Say hi to Auntie Nat!"_ Laura cooed from behind the camera as the boy laughed.

"Fat," Natasha laughed quietly as Darcy squealed "Ohmygosh, a little baby-Barton-person!"

"How we looking?" The assassin asked once Darcy handed back her phone.

Steve shrugged as Darcy handed her clipboard to the assassin, "Well, we're not the 27-Yankees."

"We got some hitters," Natasha said. The three exchanged smiles as they walked out of the room, Darcy checked her watch. _Noon, exactly_ , she thought.

"They're good. They're not a team, though." Steve said.

"We'll beat 'em in to shape." Natasha assured the Captain. Then she glanced over at Darcy and smirked, "And when that fails, we got Darcy here to give 'em a little _shock_."

"Damn straight!" Darcy laughed as the three stepped into the Avengers HQ's front room. Darcy glanced around.

Wanda, who was just starting to grasp the idea of levitation, landed in front of the three (Darcy smiled and waved at her, the little witch just rolled her eyes and laughed), Sam Wilson—clad in his Falcon get up—landed beside Rhodey, who's War Machine face-plate slid up, and then there was Vision, who had been calmly surveying the outside scenery, turned to glance at the three.

As Darcy surveyed the new superheroes she was going to "assist" (read: babysit-half-the-damn-time), she smiled. _These guys could work. Sure, they've got some issues and they aren't a team… But they could work._

With Natasha standing by Steve, glaring intimidatingly at the new recruits, and Darcy smiling at them with her new clipboard, Steve put on his Captain persona. "Avengers… Assemble!"

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

In his guise as Odin, Loki glanced around the throne room. He had cast a double of himself (as a guard) to the Bifrost with the intention of observing the Avengers in their new environment and gain information on their newer recruits (and if Darcy Lewis just so happened to be there, well, that was a coincidence that he wouldn't mind), but had seen Thor about to travel the Bifrost to Asgard instead.

The God of Lies did _not_ like the idea of his not-brother coming home, but what could he do? The All-Father forbidding his eldest, favorite, and remaining son from coming home? He might as well have just announced himself as Odin's usurper if he did so.

A guard came in and announced Thor's arrival, hiding his distaste rather easily, he bid the guard to let him in.

Things would become increasingly trying from here on out. Heimdall was already suspicious, but with Thor here… Who knows how much time Loki had before he was found out?

He would have to plan, if wore came to worse, he'd need a way out.

Thunder footsteps were heard and the disguised God had to halt his thinking. _This is going to be a long night,_ Loki thought as he hoisted himself up from the throne and smiled, _might as well get it over with._

"My son, welcome home to Asgard!"

Thor smiled and Loki inwardly grimaced.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Thanos eyed the galaxy distastefully. He had seen the commotion on the meager planet Earth. _Pathetic,_ he thought _,_ _all of them._ The Mind Stone now had a new host, the one they call the Vision.

"Four Infinity Stones known, two still missing," Nebula muttered, kneeling before her father's hovering throne, "What do we do?"

Thanos stood from his chair, his daughter ducking her head in fear. The Mad Titan glared over his shoulder. "We? _We_? You made it quite clear one year ago that you wish me no more than dead."

"It was a time of weakness." Nebula argued, fearfully raising her head to meet Thanos's eyes. "I regret my actions and I wish to make it up to you, father. I wish to… _help_ you in your mission."

Turning, Thanos raised a brow "And how would you do that?"

"Send me to Earth." The blue girl said, standing up. "Let me retrieve the Mind Stone—"

"The Mind Stone is now placed in a sentient being. A living, breathing, being. A hero, a member of the ones who defeated Loki Laufeyson all those years ago. You would not make it one step without being destroyed."

"Well who else is there?" Nebula asked harshly as her father turned once again to gaze at the destruction he caused. "You have no more allies available to you? Laufeyson holes himself in the strong arm of Asgard, Gamora abandoned you for those _pathetic_ prison mates of hers, and Ronan has been slayed! Who else is there?"

"The human."

Nebula's shock was visible to the Mad Titan as he sat back down. She blinked in surprise, "W-What?"

"I said: 'The human'."

"I heard you, father. It's just… A surprise…"

"Oh," Thanos gestured for her to explain, "How so?"

"As far as I know, you have not had contact with the human for ten years… How do you know that the human will be an asset?"

Thanos smirked. "We have spoken once or twice in the past ten years. Once only a few months ago. The human spoke of someone who was planning something… Something that will turn the ones called _The Avengers_ from the Earth's mighty heroes to their most hatted enemies. That all I have to do is wait a few more months, and the locations of the last two Infinity Stones will become clear…"

Nebula stared at the back of Thanos's throne and swallowed. "And… If the human does not keep its promise?"

"If the human does not keep its promise?" Thanos stood and walked over to a holding chamber and pressed a button only he could reach. "If the human fails, then it will know the full extent of my wrath. The human will _beg_ for pain, for _death_. I will give it something far worse so…"

"What are you saying?" Nebula asked warily.

"If the human fails," Thanos reached into the holding chamber and placed a golden gauntlet with six holes in it and turned to his daughter, smirking, "Then I'll do it myself."

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 **And the** _ **Age of Ultron**_ **arc is finished. Next chapter is when the story really starts. Thank you so much for all of you who stuck around this long. Leave a little review and I'll try and upload again by Halloween.**


	8. 7: I'm not a scientist

**3 chapter in two weeks, I am on fire, ladies and gentleman!**

 **Story starts here friends, it** _ **really**_ **starts here.**

 **Oh, and for those of you have seen Antman, remember the end credit scene? Forget it. Forget it right now, at least for the sake of this story. Thank you!**

 **Also, to the guest reviewer** _ **Jocelyn**_ **; I am so happy you liked the story! Yay! And Loki and Darcy will meet soon, I promise.**

 **Disclaimer: … *sips hot chocolate* Nope. *takes another sip of hot chocolate***

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

One week since Darcy had officially begun her job as the superhero wrangler, and Jane had returned. Unfortunately, Ian had a family emergency pop up the day before, so he would be a bit longer. On the plus side, he had called Darcy around midnight Yankee time and the two had talked for hours (The down side was that it was during the Avengers Disney marathon, and she had to put up with Sam and Rhodey pretending to make-out and Natasha and Jane serenading her and Ian, loudly and off-key, to _So This is Love_. Steve and Wanda had barely kept a straight face, and Vision looked so confused it was adorable) and then he said he loved her and that he'll come in a few days. She practically melted.

One week, and she woke up to a message—at an _ungodly_ hour, she might add—from Tony Stark. There were days she wished she could disembowel him with a blunt knife, this was one of those days.

' _Goood morning, Betty Boop! This is Big Daddy Boss Man calling you from the glorious city of New York, telling you that you need to bring your hot self and the wonderfully temperamental Wanda Maximoff to Avengers Tower today. I've done some digging, turns out that Banner left something behind. I'll tell you more when you get two get here.'_ At this point, Darcy heard Pepper's voice, muffled as it was, mention something to Tony. _'Oh, and bring Jane too, Pepper hasn't seen her in a while. Plus we can give her some science to do while we're busy. I'll be expecting a reply as soon as you get this. If I don't receive one, then I'll hack into the hard drive and blast an air horn sound effect at you every hour, on the hour, no matter where you are. You know I can, and will, do it.'_

Forget the blunt knife, she would use a plastic knife. She'd find a way to make it work.

So, after a conversation with Tony that basically amounted to her cussing him out for waking her up at fucking seven in the morning on a _Saturday_ and him cheekily laughing at it all, she agreed and Pepper (who had grabbed the phone from Tony at that point) had sweetly arranged everything.

It had taken about a second to wake Wanda up—something about hearing Darcy's thoughts—and explain the whole situation, and while she wasn't keen on seeing Tony ( _Understandable_ , Darcy thought), she agreed. It had taken both girls about half-an-hour to wake Jane… True, ten of which were used to take silly selfies with the sleeping astrophysicist, still.

So, at eleven fifteen am exactly, Darcy found herself glancing out the window of the Stark Jet; say what you like about Tony Stark, but he knew how to schmooze people. "How long until we land?" She asked.

"Should be another half hour, ma'am." The flight attendant responded, bringing out three glasses of champagne.

"Are those for us?" Jane asked.

"Courtesy of Mr. Stark, Dr. Foster." The flight attendant responded with a knowing smile as she handed Wanda her glass.

"Is it me," Wanda smirked, taking a sip of her wine, "or does Stark want something from us?"

"Oh, what gave you that idea?"

" _As we take a look at all the destruction in Sokovia, caused by none other than the Avengers, we have to wonder: Are they a hindrance or a help?"_ Christine Everhart, former Vanity Fair reporter turned WHIH news anchor, announced on the TV. Wanda and Darcy immediately scowled as Jane frowned.

"I never liked that woman." Jane stated, trying to defuse the tension in her two companion caused by the blonde anchor woman.

"Neither did Pepper," Darcy replied dryly.

Christine Everhart continued _"There's talk of a legislative bill in the works that would in fact—"_

"Yeah, well, this is what I think of your _'legislative bill'_!" Darcy set her champagne down as she reached for the remote and promptly cut the woman off just as it began to show footage of—what Darcy referred to as—Hulk v. Hulkbuster.

Jane observed her young friend and the newest Avenger. "Don't beat yourself up girls, you all did what you had to do… Ultron's gone and the world is safe."

"For now," Wanda pointed out, still frowning.

"What?"

"My home country, it has been at war for years." Wanda explained. "One of the first lessons Pietro and I learned was that times of peace may last for years, but war is never truly over."

Darcy glanced out the window again, hearing her friend's words ring true. _'People can only be good for so long, before the bad starts to creep back in.'_ Her mother once told her.

' _But not all people are bad.'_ She argued. To her twelve year-old self, it had made perfect sense. Nowadays…

' _That's true, but not all people make_ good _decisions all the time… Darcy, you'll understand when you're older.'_

At the time, she thought her mother was just spouting "You'll-understand-the-world-when-you're-older" speeches her father used to give her, but now, working with S.H.I.E.L.D, her mother's words rang true.

"I guess you're right," Jane conceded. "Peace never lasts. Still, doesn't mean you can't enjoy it while it's still here…"

"I suppose." Wanda shrugged. "Still, with all of the slander against the Avengers at the moment, I still don't think this "peace period" will last very long."

"Hey, whatever's coming our way, S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers can totally take it!" Darcy assured her two friends. "Besides, we just beat the modern day mash-up of Frankenstein and C3PO," That earned her a laugh from her friends, and a giggle from the flight attendant. "Nothing can be worse than that…"

The flight attendant shrugged. "Miss Lewis is right. I doubt anything could top that metal freak."

As the flight attendant was called over by another flight attendant, the three woman frowned, remembering what Thor had said about the Infinity Stones and someone using the Stones themselves and everyone around them as pawns in some huge game.

Suddenly, Ultron seemed like a small threat.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"So, you've been with Mr. Stark for _how long_?" Wanda asked Pepper.

The strawberry blonde smiled kindly. "Technically for five years now, but we've sort of depended on each other long before than…"

"She is awesome!" Darcy said. The three women were walking from the lab Pepper had dropped Jane off at. The CEO promised that once the two girls were settled, she would come back to chat. Jane nodded but her attention was immediately diverted by the science-y looking tools that Tony had left out. "She runs Stark Industries, keeps Tony in line, and she's been with him for five years and she does this thing where she _doesn't_ kill him after five minutes of talking to him."

Pepper blushed bashfully, "I'm not great."

"Pepper, you are kick-ass. Shut up," Wanda laughed at Darcy's assertion.

"Anyone who can willingly put up with him has my respect."

"I get that a lot actually," Pepper admitted.

After a few minutes later, Darcy's face wrinkled in concentration, which did not go unnoticed by Wanda. The girl smirked slyly "Is there something you would like to share with the rest of us, Darcy?"

"Lemme get this straight, you've been with Tony for five years now?" Darcy asked Pepper.

She nodded, "Yes."

"And you two love each other, right?"

"Very much so, yes."

"And he hasn't proposed to you?"

Wanda thought it was utterly amazing how much Pepper resembled a tomato right now, also cute in an odd way. "He hasn't mentioned marriage, at least, not to me… Oh, look at that! We're here."

Darcy knew that she should lay off the woman. Pepper was sweet, patient, and a truly kick-ass woman if she could put up with Tony, but Darcy had a startling lack of a filter, so she plainly blurted out "Why don't you ask him?"

Deciding that Darcy had done enough damage, Wanda sent Pepper an apologetic look before grabbing Darcy and dragging her into the Avenger's former common room. "Seriously?" She hissed.

"It just slipped out!" Darcy protested.

"What slipped out?" Tony asked curiously. The two girls saw him eating Shawarma on the nearby love seat across the leather couch.

"Darcy's common sense." Wanda answered as she approached the billionaire.

"She has common sense?" Tony asked. Despite the lingering resentment she felt toward the man, Wanda smiled at the joke.

"Thanks, guys." Darcy stated. "You gonna share that?" She gestured to the Shawarma in his hand.

He turned around and pulled a Shawarma takeout bag from behind his chair. "Got your favorite chicken wraps for you boop, and you like Chicken Salad, right Sabrina?"

Wanda nodded and took the salad and fork as Darcy grabbed her wraps. "How did you know that?"

"He stalss eberyone," Darcy said around a mouthful of food, "Geb use to it."

Tony nodded, "She's not wrong."

"Alright," Wanda nodded, starting to peck at her salad. "So, as nice as a free lunch is, why did you want us to come?"

"This is free right?" Darcy asked after swallowing her food. "I haven't gotten my paycheck cashed yet, so…"

Tony laughed. "It is free. As for why you're here… Well, I've got a question for you. Besides being an enormous, green rage monster; what was Bruce Banner an expert at?"

"Gamma Radiation and Bio-Organics." Wanda replied immediately.

"Kicking your ass at Mario Kart?" Darcy quipped, Wanda giggled at Tony's expression.

"Yes, and he didn't kick my ass, I let him win." Darcy sent him a smile that said 'I'm-not-buying-your-shit'. "And, I was going to say _science_."

While Darcy fist-pumped and shouted 'Science!' Wanda raised a brow. "When you say 'science' you mean…?"

Reaching behind the chair again (Both Darcy and Wanda leaned over to see if he had anything else behind it), Tony tossed the girls a dossier. Wiping her hands on her jeans, Darcy opened it up and read the name. "Project D-12."

"It's a neurological recognizer, Banner's final and unfinished project." Tony explained. "I want you two to finish it."

"What?" Both girls asked in unison.

Tony paused a second before continuing, real slowly and making gestures to emphasize his point. " _I_ want… _you to_ … finish the _neurological recogni_ —"

"We heard you!" Darcy interrupted, "It's just we don't understand… Why do you want _us_ to take this project on?"

Tony set his Shawarma down and started to slowly pace around the girls. "Tell, me, what do you know about neurology?"

"It's the study of the brain." Wanda shrugged. "Every ninth grader in America should know it."

"Right, now, what is Psychology?"

"Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behavior in a given context." Darcy quoted, almost mechanically. Upon noticing the surprised looks her two friends were giving her she smiled sheepishly and added "I really liked Psychology in high school."

"Right," Tony said, still in shock, "Now, our friend Banner was always trying to find a way to calm himself down mid-Hulk. But, he knew that wouldn't always work."

 _Half the reason he left,_ Darcy thought sadly. As if sensing her thoughts, Darcy didn't doubt she did, Wanda reached over and squeezed her hand gently in support.

"So, he started to develop a backup plan. He studied the cerebrum and Cognitive Psychology and he began to collect data."

"You knew about this?" Darcy asked.

"Not until I snooped through his stuff." Tony answered plainly. "Any other questions.

"Yes, what does 'Privacy' mean?" Wanda asked nicely, Darcy and Tony couldn't help but smile.

Smirking at her, Tony nodded. "Good one. Anyway, I need a couple of geniuses, a couple people I trust to take on this project. People who are _crazy_ smart with programs and computers and people who know the brain."

"Us?' Wanda asked. "Why us?"

"Why not you two?"

"I'm not a scientist." Wanda pointed out.

"And all I know about the brain is what I read in _Divergent_." Darcy said.

"You're point?"

"Tony, we're not scientists or geniuses. She's an Avenger and I'm their over-glorified babysitter. We can't do this kind of thing."

Tony seemed to be mulling over Darcy's words. Wanda had promised that she wouldn't use her powers to look into or alter anyone's minds, but the urge was tempting. Finally, after a few minutes, Tony sat down on the coffee table in front of the girls.

"Alright, Salem," Wanda deadpanned at the nickname (Darcy was more creative with her nicknames) but didn't say anything. "Your little mind-mojo or whatever you call it—"

"Hexing,"

"Wow, badass name for it, just sayin'." Tony looked genuine, but neither girl could really tell. "Back to the point, you can use it to look into people's head right?"

"Yes."

"And you normally just look into the part of the brain that stores all a person's fears or memories, am I wrong?"

"As of yet, no."

"So, theoretically speaking, could you use your 'hexes' to look into the part of a person's brain that recognizes friends and enemies?"

"I…" Wanda paused, she never really thought of using her powers in that way before. Then again, she never really had reason to. And if she could look in a man's head and see his memories and fear… Why couldn't she look in and see who he recognized as friend and enemy? "I _suppose_ I could."

Tony nodded before turning to Darcy. "Boop, remember that virus you wrote about a year back, the one that messed with the Tower's security codes. The one that caused elevators to stop and go at random, security alarms to go off at the worst possible times, and made J.A.R.V.I.S. speak Greek for the rest of the day?"

"I made him speak _Italian_ , btw, and that was the best April Fool's Day ever!" Darcy smiled fondly at the memory of Steve and Thor coming out the elevator a bit dizzy due to it stopping and starting every five seconds.

"I am now afraid to leave her alone with a computer." Wanda admitted.

"We usually had at least one person in the room with her after that, or we tried too." Tony advised. "And, Boop, not only did you hack into secure S.H.I.E.L.D files—ones I couldn't even touch—and make a copy of it, you also tracked down Ultron's movements and you did play a major role in making Vizh."

Darcy's eyes widened. "Who told you that I…?"

"Fury, he mentioned the last time I was at HQ."

"Damn you, Nick Fury."

Chuckling, the billionaire continued, "So, not only are you an expert with programs and hacking, you apparently know a thing or two in Psychology, which is all the more helpful."

The two girls exchanged unsure glances. True, this neurological recognizer seemed like a great idea, but they didn't have the qualifications to finish Banner's project. Wanda had a limited education as it was and Darcy got lost when they were talking about seventh-grade-science. Noticing this, Tony decided to switch tactics from 'Hit-them-with-facts' to 'Schmooze-like-you've-never-schmoozed-before'.

"Can you girls just _imagine_ the possibilities this kind of invention could have for the world? People with Alzheimer's Disease might have the gateway to a cure…"

"People with a _'Hulk-ing'_ problem could recognize friend and enemy." Darcy ventured.

"This was Bruce's last project. If I could, I would complete it myself. But I can't. You two can. I mean, who better to create a neurological recognizer than the best damn—well, second best—programmer that I've ever met and someone who can _literally_ see into a person's head."

Wanda and Darcy glanced at the floor/their shoes, still looking unconvinced.

"Girls, this could be your chance to do something amazing. Be something more than the Scarlet Witch and the Avenger's Babysitter. Think of the scientific acclaim, the benefits it could have to the medical field, think… think of Banner. He left and we have no idea where he is, but I know he would've wanted to complete this. If you won't do it for me, do it for Bruce."

The girls exchanged glances. Tony's words seemed to finally have an effect on them, for they smiled and nodded before Darcy looked at Tony, "Alright, we'll do it."

The billionaire grinned. "Fantastic! Just give me a second and I'll get the files you girls will need."

About fifteen minutes later, the girls had finished their Shawarma and Tony had given them all they would need to get started on the neurological recognizer (Banner's notes and research, book son neurology and psychology, computer programs to use, etc.) and the girls were sent towards the lab where Jane and Pepper were currently talking and/or doing science.

About halfway there, both girls glanced down at the files and notes in their hands. They eventually slowed to a stop and stared in shock at the objects they held. Glancing at each other, Wanda asked "What just happened?"

Darcy exhaled loudly, "We got Stark'd, that's what happened."

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Two figures, one older than the other, sat in an office. The older figure glanced out the window into the Chicago evening night.

"The plan is coming along rather well," The second figure spoke up, flipping through files and apps on her tablet, "Although we're not quite ready for Phase Three yet."

"I know we're not. We still need to complete the serums, gather the army… Then there's the problem with the Avengers." The older one scowled before returning to face the second figure. "So, how do we get to the Avengers? How do we let them know that _'HYDRA'_ is after them?"

"As you've said before, we need to target someone close to them. We need to plant the, uh, 'program' onto someone they're close to. A person they love and respect enough to rally behind."

"Someone they think HYDRA would kill, just for that little stunt they pulled in Sokovia." The older figure glared at the younger. "Tell me you have someone in mind."

"Actually, I do." The younger figure flipped her tablet over to reveal the S.H.I.E.L.D clearance file of a dark-haired, blue-eyed young woman. "Her name's Darcy Lewis. She was the assistant-slash-intern to Dr. Jane Foster for a couple years, she played a minor apart in that whole 'Greenwich' situation, she was the assistant of Tony Stark after that, she played some kind of role in that Ultron mess a few weeks back, and now she's the _Executive Assistant to the Avengers_." The older figured only rolled his eyes at the younger's sarcasm as the younger one slapped the tablet to the older one's chest. "But according to the security cameras, she's a glorified babysitter."

Flipping through the dossier of this Darcy Lewis girl, the older figure read the basics. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Michigan, dropped out of Culver University, age twenty-five, etc. Yet, the girl's smile, her eyes and hair… something just seemed so… _familiar_ about this girl but the older figure couldn't put his finger on it.

 _She looks like… like…_

"And the Avengers… they like her?"

"Are you kidding me?" The younger scoffed. "She's like their little stray kitten. Certainly has the attention span of one…"

"She'll be a good enough martyr for them?"

"As good as we can get."

A scrawny, pale looking man hesitantly knocked on the door to the office before entering. "E-excuse me?"

"Yes, what it is?" The older figure ask.

"Pardon the interruption, but the subject… He's ready."

The younger smiled happily while the older raised a brow. "Serum A-12?"

"Ready and loaded."

"We'll be there in a moment, go on ahead." The younger said nicely. As he turned to leave, the man hesitated before turning back. "Um, w-what we're doing here… Are you two sure it's, um, legal?"

"You are not paid to ask questions, young man."

"Of course, I'm sorry." The man turned heel and scurried out the room.

The younger turned to the older and smiled excitedly, "Well, seems as though the plan is moving along farther than we originally planned."

"It seems so," The older figure responded as he and his colleague exited the office and made their way down a secret set of stairs hidden behind the far wall. The staircase spiraled down and down until they came to what seemed to be an underground lab. "Where did you find this guy anyway?"

"Our sources first spotted him at the Smithsonian Museum about a year ago, but we picked him up about three or four months ago. S.H.I.E.L.D nor HYDRA ever noticed." The younger added with a touch of pride as both figures slipped on some blue, latex gloves.

The older figure smirked as he stepped into the other room. The subject in question thrashed frantically on the metal table he was strapped to, like an angry, caged animal trying to break free. Long brown hair tangled in knots and sweat covering his face. Upon seeing the older figure, the subject only began to thrash more violently.

Stepping closer, knowing the subject couldn't hurt him, the older figure smiled as he traced the subject's metal arm. "James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes. The infamous _Winter Soldier_ … you've certainly got yourself into a mess, haven't you?"

The former HYDRA pawn only snarled angrily in response.

"You know what you're going to do tomorrow?" The older figure asked rhetorically. "You're going back to New York. You're gonna lead an attack on thousands of innocent lives, kill a few of them, and then finally, for the big finally, you're going to kill the Avenger's little assistant. Of course, you won't remember this, but I thought it would be nice to inform you.

Seething, Bucky snarled "Go to hell," which only made the figure laugh.

"Only if you go first. I mean, it shouldn't be a problem to you? I mean, you assassinated hundreds of people, including Howard and Maria Stark. You should feel proud."

The younger figured walked into the room, a doctor's needle filled with a strange, yellow liquid. Bucky's eyes suddenly widened with fear as he tried to jerk away from the approaching figure. When the younger started to push back his hair and sanitize his neck, that's when he began to protest. "No, stop! No!"

"Shhh, don't worry." The younger figure cooed in what was supposed to be a calming voice, but to Bucky ended up sounding sadistic. "It's just a pinch, really. Besides, it'll only hurt for a second."

As the needle was pushed into Bucky's neck, and the plunger pressed down, the former HYDRA pawn's breathing became short and panicked. Then, after injecting him with the serum, the two figures noticed how his eyes suddenly lost all emotion, all fear. He stopped struggling.

They smiled, the serum, for now, was successful.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 **So, not as long as I wanted it to be, but hey, what can you do?**

 **Hopefully, I'll be able to update again real soon because next chapter is going to be intense. Really, you won't want to miss it.**


	9. 8: Do I know you from somewhere?

**Hey, noticed I got a lot of new followers and people who have favorited this story. That's great, welcome aboard. But, and just a suggestion, if you want to drop a review from time to time, that would be great. I love hearing from you guys, even if it's constructive criticism. Anyway, we had a guest reviewer last chapter. I'll respond to said review now.**

 _ **Guest**_ **: A few** _ **Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D**_ **characters will play some minor roles. As for** _ **Inhumans**_ **, it's too early to tell. As of now they might be mentioned, but not featured. That all could change with the pass of time though.**

 **Anyway, for those of you who want Loki and Darcy to meet… I am a tease! Just saying. Plus, I have a little Easter Egg in this chapter. I wanna see if any of you can guess what it is.**

 **Disclaimer: Still no. Oh, and the song Darcy sings belongs to Meredith Wilson. I high recommend listening to it. It's called** _ **Lida Rose**_ **.**

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

The past couple weeks had, thankfully, been uneventful for Loki. No one had discovered he wasn't Odin or. If anyone found out, or you-know-who decided to make an appearance… that was the end of him

Though, there were times when Thor or Heimdall's eyes would linger far too long for Loki's liking. _Are you ever_ not _going to fall for that?_ Loki's words to Thor rang in his head. How daft he'd been, all but telling his not-brother to _look_ for his allusions. If there was ever a time Loki cursed himself, it was then.

Still, with the uneventful week came a boredom which Loki hadn't experience before. Usually, he'd play a harmless prank (turning an apple into a small spider, tripping the occasional guard or maid, using his magic to switch Volstagg's ale into water—harmless fun that no one would suspect him of), but seeing as how Thor was back, he could not risk it.

More frequently than when he first started, Loki often found himself at the Bifrost (either as guard or Odin) even if Heimdall wasn't there. At first, he lied easily enough to himself, saying he was merely there to observe what the Vision would do with the Mind Stone (which he found the creation hardly ever used unless specified in some ridiculous training exercise). Yet, deep down, Loki knew the truth; he went to watch Darcy Lewis.

The girl just seemed to be an unending cesspool of sarcasm, witty retorts to everything, and nonsense.

He had seen Stark give her and the Witch Banner's final project. He had been able to glimpse over the file and saw that it was a pitiful invention to help Dr. Banner control the beast. Trivial attempt at best, but Loki would admit to being intrigued as to how it worked. And he would also admit to being a bit surprised when Stark offered Darcy and her little friend the project. The Witch he could somewhat understand, the ability to see into one's mind and know everything about them seemed a worthy trait to assist her in this scientific endeavor… And then there was Darcy.

She had admitted to herself, Jane Foster, Erik Selvig, and even Wanda Maximoff, that she was nothing more than the Avenger's over glorified babysitter ( _How fitting of a title,_ Loki thought dryly). Her education among the scientific field, it seemed to him, was limited to computers, basic bodily functions, why the sun rose every day, and whatever little she was able to understand when Jane Foster rambled upon about the stars and what not.

It puzzled Loki to no end, what puzzled him further was what strides the two girls were making. Only a day into the experiment and the girls had already figured out the synthetic base for the serum they had planned to make, all they needed was an answer on how to make sure the brain recognized friend and enemy and make sure they would be able to tell them apart.

Easier said than done, apparently.

"The hippocampus holds memory in the brain… Along with the amygdala, the cingulate gyrus, the thalamus, the hypothalamus, and the epithalamus. There's no telling which one could recognize friends." Wanda said despondently.

"Not to mention we don't have to necessarily recognize friend and enemy as much as we do civilian and evil alien-robot-army-droid-thingy." Darcy chipped in before sighing. "I wish Bruce were here…"

Wanda frowned. "I wish he could be here as well… But you know why he can't be."

The doctor had not wished to harm the Spider by pursuing a romantic relationship with her, so he had left. Cowardly way out, in Loki's opinion.

"I do… still doesn't mean I miss the Green Bean any less than I did last week." Wanda smiled sadly and pulled her friend into a one-armed hug.

"We can figure this out… It just might take a few weeks… or months…" The witch glanced at the notes she and Darcy had gathered and frowned. "… Or years…"

"Science," Darcy cheered weakly and offered a fist to Wanda, the witch made a fist and bumped it lightly against Darcy's. "Science."

' _Whoa Black Betty, bam-ba-lam! Yeah Black Betty, bam-ba-lam! Black Betty had a child, bam-ba-lam'_ Loki watched curiously as some type of music seemed to start playing from seemingly out of nowhere. The God couldn't help but notice that Darcy's once dejected face lit up with a brilliant smile.

Even though he was on Asgard, the God of Lies was still surprised by the volume at which Darcy Lewis squealed. He would admit to himself then that he felt sorry for Wanda Maximoff, who was now crouching by the table, one hand covering her ear in pain. _'Damn thing gone wild, bam-ba-lam! She's always ready, bam-ba—'_ Darcy yanked her beloved little iPhone up from the coffee table and all but shouted "Are you really calling me?!"

"My ear…" Wanda moaned.

"Where are you right now?"

"I think you just shattered my ear drum!"

"Iran? Did you call Mackenzie or mom yet?"

"Did you have to scream so loudly?"

"Are you coming home yet?"

"I'm fairly certain you made me deaf in this ear."

"Could you hold on a sec, Ron? Thanks," Darcy covered the bottom half of her phone and sent Wanda a look, "Do you _mind_? I'm on the phone." Removing her hand, she returned to her call. "Sorry, broseph, my roommate was being loud and obnoxious."

Loki saw that Darcy was only teasing her friend, but the Witch looked about ready to strangle the girl. His mouth twitched into a bemused smile against his will, _Such a strange girl…_

"I didn't hear you earlier, are you coming home yet?... Really! When?... Oh, two weeks. No, no! It's not that I don't want to see you or mom or Mackenzie or Christy, it's just… look you guys knew I worked for Tony Stark… Look, Aaron, I'm saying I got a new job. I work a bit more closely to the Avengers now… Believe me, I've been trying to get a few days off, but where I'm working, everything's too new! I can't—what? Oh, yeah. I know, I know, its fine… Yeah, I miss you too, bro. Love ya, see you soon, hopefully… Uh-huh, love you… Bye." She ended the call and flopped onto the nearby couch, looking quite crestfallen.

There was something about the way her lips, the lips that were normally in a large smile or teasing smirk, turned down into a frown. It didn't bode well with him.

"That the infamous big brother?" Wanda asked.

"Yep. He's coming home in a couple weeks… I haven't seen him or anyone in a really long time."

"You miss them, don't you?"

Darcy nodded, wiping away tears with the heel of her hand. "You know what my childhood was like, so I'm guessing you know the role my brother played, right?"

Wanda looked away sheepishly for a minute, before nodding. "Your brother's a very kind man. And brave… Taking care of you and your mother after your father…"

Tears shone in the normally bright blue eyes that Loki had come to contemplate to an unnerving degree he didn't like it. "Yeah, he's one badass big brother. I'm lucky."

"He's in the army, right?"

"Yeah. Major of the United States Army… Joined the military the moment after he graduated high school. I always thought he was the biggest hero in the world…"

"And now?"

"He is smaller than Thor, has a slightly smaller ego than Tony, and Steve is the only one who I know is more patriotic than him." Wanda laughed as she and Darcy slumped back onto the couch.

"You'll get to see your family again, I mean, you're only a plane ride away." Wanda assured her friend.

The light in her bright, blue eyes was back. That little glimmer than intrigued Loki. Darcy smiled easily, "Thanks. Wans…"

There was a slight pause before Darcy turned to her friend and asked "I'm gonna pay for that ear thing later, aren't I?"

"Oh, definitely."

"Right, just checking." _Funny_ , Loki thought _, how a murderous robot could not scare her but this little witch and her mind game can._ The God noted with a touch of irony as he noticed the slight fear in the blue eyes of Darcy Lewis.

Feeling as though he had seen enough for now, Loki (disguised as Odin) nodded to the guards and Heimdall as he made his way back to the throne room deciding to take a rare leisurely stroll across the Bridge, to just enjoy the calm of the day when he felt it.

At first it was light, Loki barley felt it at first. But it grew and grew with intensity, like the taunt rope suddenly sliced in half, the God of Lies felt the sudden, unexpected, unwelcomed, and horrifying pull of his magic.

"No," He mumbled, "Not now, why now?"

Odin was awake.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

' _Is that a Hobbit?'_

' _No, that's a Hobo and a Rabbit. But they're making a Hobbit.'_

After Wanda had left for Avenger's training a few hours ago, Darcy had tried to continue with Project D-12, but she just didn't have the ambition. So, she packed it all up and set it aside before plopping onto the couch and turning on the TV.

After a bit of channel surfing, she settled on _Bender's Game_ , considering it had been awhile since she seen _Futurama_ and thought it would be a nice change of pace.

Of course, she had been dozing on-and-off throughout the movie, so Darcy had been paying very little attention when Wanda came come and proceeded to blast air horn noises from her phone in her ear.

Darcy jumped in surprised and rolled off the couch and onto her backside. She glared up at Wanda from her spot on the floor. "Not cool, Maximoff. _Not cool_!"

"You earned that, you know you did. What're you watching?"

" _Futurama_. Really funny show, and very American. I recommend watching it."

"Alright, oh and your phone's been buzzing since I got back. I think you have a message." Wanda nodded toward Darcy's iPhone, which rested on the coffee table.

Sure enough, when Darcy picked it up, she felt it buzz. Unlocking the phone, she raised a brow. "It's from Tony."

"What's it say?"

Darcy cleared her throat before beginning her best Tony Stark impression _"'Hey, Boop, need you to come help me clear up some files at Avengers Tower. Be there by two-thirty or I will do ungodly things to your Wi-Fi for a whole month. XOXO Tony'_."

"Good impression." Wanda nodded approvingly. "What files?"

"We had some files on Strucker and Klaue and other baddies. Obviously, some shit's gone down since we last updated them so that's probably it."

"Why do you have to go? Can't some other secretary do this job?"

"Probably, but neither Tony nor S.H.I.E.L.D trust 'some other secretary' to do this job, do they?" Darcy checked her watch. "It's one now, so if I clean up now I can probably get Hill or someone to give me the all clear to head out to the Big Apple."

"And while you're gone, I'll look into this _Futurama_ thing." Wanda said, settling into the couch.

"I have the first couple seasons on DVD if you want them." Darcy gestured to the bookshelf before heading towards her room.

"Right, right." Wanda waved noncommittally, already invested in the movie.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"Thanks, F.R.I.D.A.Y!" Darcy beamed as she stepped off the elevator.

" _Not a problem, Miss Lewis."_ The AI replied. _"I will alert Mr. Stark to your arrival."_

"You do you, F.R.I.D.A.Y." Darcy shrugged. The brunette walked idly around the waiting room, staring at newspaper articles dedicated to Tony or Iron Man. "Yeesh, you have one hell of ego, dude."

"It's a part of my charm." Tony said, stepping out of his (read: Pepper's) office. "Now, not that I don't love seeing my favorite, Boop… But what the hell are you doing here?"

"Uh… You _asked_ me to come here?" Darcy pulled out her phone and showed the text Tony sent her. "See."

Tony raised a brow suspiciously. "Hate to burst your bubble, kiddo, but I didn't send that. I dropped my phone in my drink yesterday. Still in a bowl of rice in the kitchen."

"Ok, if you didn't send it to me, then who did? Pepper?"

"She's been at a press thingy all day, apparently creating a homicidal robot causes a company to gain some blacklisting."

"Shocking, isn't it?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Look, I've got a meeting to go to. Government breathing down the back of my neck, should take about an hour. Meet me back here in an hour and we'll play Sherlock and Watson until we figure it out. Dibbs on Sherlock!"

"You're always Sherlock!" Darcy whined, but Tony was already out the door. Sighing, Darcy glanced around the room. "Hey, F.R.I.D.A.Y?"

" _Yes, Miss Lewis?"_

"Is Shawarma open?"

" _Yes it is Miss Lewis. It does not close for another few hours."_

"Place an order for two chicken wraps and a diet Pepsi, tip a little extra if it means I can get it in fifteen minutes."

" _Shall I leave it on Mr. Stark's tab?"_

"Yeah, serves him right for taking Sherlock again!"

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Loki cursed his luck. Of course Odin would wake up only weeks after Thor returned, of course he would tell of his traitorous son's near attempt on his life, and of course the fool Thor would eat up everything he said.

But, being the God of Mischief, Loki had a back-up plan in place and escaped Asgard in favor of some random realm.

Be it his luck that the random realm would be Midgard, home of the Avengers and site of his greatest failure. His magic prevented Heimdall from seeing him, but he had no defense if S.H.I.E.L.D or the Avengers spotted him. His magic could only spread so far after the tolling trip he took.

Loki was just starting to contemplate his next move when gunfire rang out about two blocks from his current hiding spot.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Darcy licked her fingers and threw the chicken wrap wrappers away in a recyclable bin nearby. Checking her watch, she frowned. Still another half-an-hour until Tony got back. _Alright, what can a bored girl do in New York that won't break bank?_ Seeing as how window shopping was the only option, she decided to head to a nearby shopping district and hope for the best.

Glancing around the warm, New York summer day, Darcy smiled. _Today is a good day._ She decided. _Sure, some weirdo pranked me and Tony took Sherlock from me again, but I've got a feeling that today is going to be a good day._

A couple blocks into her walk, Darcy spotted a woman with big, gaudy sunglasses on her face, hands stuffed in her trench coat's pockets and blonde hair held back by a black headband. Darcy raised a brow, _Alfred Hitchcock called, he wants his female lead back._

The woman was walking hastily, obviously in a hurry. Darcy stepped to the side to let the woman by, but the woman merely rammed into Darcy, the woman's hands brushing Darcy's pocket. "Hey, watch were you're going!" but the woman had only kept moving at her brisk pace.

"Yeesh, rude much." Darcy put her hands on her hips, and paused. Checking her pocket, she pulled out what looked like a flash drive, only with a small, red flashing light at the tip. "What the?"

That's when the gunshots rang out.

People froze for a second before the other round rang out. Mass panic ensured and Darcy was shoved off the sidewalk and into the small space between two parked taxi cabs. Groaning and complaining about "jerks shoving people" and "jerkier jerks firing gun sin a busy streets", Darcy placed the flash drive-thingy back in her pocket before pulling out her phone, fully intending to call Tony or Steve or any of the Avengers to come check out the situation, that was until she heard a gunshot and a loud shriek not far from her current spot.

Glancing under the taxi in front of her, Darcy saw a young woman with auburn hair lying in the middle of the street. Blood seeping from her head, the gunman (whose face Darcy still couldn't see) still aiming his gun at her still body.

The shriek rang out again and that's when Darcy spotted her. A small, one-year-old baby girl with bright orange hair in to small pigtails atop her head. She was shrieking and crying and blabbering something that sounded like "Mama" at the woman's body.

Getting up into a crouch, Darcy slid her phone back into her pocket. Peeking out to keep an eye on things, she saw the gunman lower his weapon before turning to study the baby. Without hesitation, he aimed his gun at the baby's head.

"No!" Darcy shouted, not thinking or hesitating about her next actions. Before the gunman could pull the trigger, Darcy dove forward and shoved the child out of the way, the bullet _just missing_ the back of her thigh.

Making sure the girl was ok and safe, Darcy turned to face the gunman, ready to chew him out, only for the air to fly straight out of her lungs when she realized she was staring at the face of the Winter Soldier.

 _Oh. My. Fucking. God you have got to be kidding me!_

"Can't I go a _week_ without some new villain popping up out of nowhere bent on killing everyone?!" Darcy exclaimed.

The Soldier merely glared at her and raised his gun, "Target spotted." He muttered robotically.

"Ah crap," Darcy grabbed the baby and scrambled to her feet as the Winter Soldier fired after her. Running as fast as she could, Darcy dodged civilians and traffic. Glancing behind her, she saw the Winter Soldier was in hot pursuit. Thinking quickly, Darcy reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her EMG, Electabuzz, and fired it blindly.

Thankfully, whoever's still up in Asgard must be looking out for her, because her blast hit the possibly-former HYDRA gunman right in the chest. He cried out in pain, and fell in a spasm to the ground. Not wanting to waste time, Darcy ran as far as she could before the screaming child in her arms became too much to ignore. With more gunshots ringing out ( _Is there anyone else helping this guy?_ Darcy wondered), and people screaming, the EMG toting brunette ducked into a nearby alley.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Loki had heard the gunshots and had decided to teleport a safe distance away. Only, to his not-so-much-surprise, the gunshots were ringing out there as well. He had glanced out of the alley for a moment, peaked out of the shadows he hide himself in to try and see what was causing this commotion, but was met with chaos and confusion.

If he were to admit it, Loki was a bit peeved he was not causing it.

A panting sound snapped the God out of his thoughts and he ducked back into the shadows of the alley. No doubt another pathetic Midgardian ducking into the alley in an attempt of finding shelter form this apparently random attack. Glancing out of the corner of his eyes, Loki had to do a double take, and when he did his mouth ran dry.

Darcy Lewis was leaning against the far wall, a screaming baby in her arms as she glanced out. Shuffling back further into the alley, she began to rock the child in her arms. "It's ok, it's ok… I don't know your name, but its ok… Don't cry, please don't cry." She cooed gently to the screaming babe.

The child screamed "Mama!" at the top of its little lungs, making him and Darcy cringe. Loki was tempted to use what magic he could muster after his trip to silence the child, but decided against it as Darcy continued to rock the child.

Said girl swallowed, before nervously continuing. "Shh, it's ok… Mama's not here… Shh, she's fine now, she's ok now, everything's ok now…" By the way she phrased her words, Loki could only guess the babe's mother was dead, killed in the slaughter. "You're ok, shh, you're ok… It's ok little baby-girl-person."

When the child's screams didn't lessen (if anything, they grew louder), Darcy Lewis glanced around frantically, looking nervous and on-edge. Looking at the child, Loki saw a sort of determination that he thought only a mother could exhibit to a child flash in her expressive blue eyes.

' _Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, to get the sun back in the sky… Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, about a thousand kisses shy.'_ Loki was, admittedly, a bit surprised when Darcy Lewis began to sing to the child. She was by no means a good singer, the notes she sang made it sound like she was guessing at them or it had been quite long since she sang the song itself. _'Ding dong ding, I can hear the chapel bell chime… Ding dong ding, at the least suggestion… I'll pop the question.'_ He supposed it was some Midgardian folk song from a few centuries ago. Some man singing to his lover about how much he missed her and when he returned he intended to marry her. What surprised him was how well the babe was responding to the melody, the gentle rocking coupled with Darcy Lewis's quite singing. It was almost instant, the child ceased it's shrieking after the first verses and only cried slightly. _'Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, without a sweetheart to my name. Lida Rose, now everyone knows that I am hoping you're the same…'_ Still, she knew the lyrics. By heart it seemed. Perhaps she had someone sing it to her as a child. Maybe that was how she knew to calm the child as well as she did, her mother or father had sung it to her and she learned from them. _'So here is my love song, not fancy or fine… Lida Rose, oh won't you be mine—Lida Rose, oh Lida Rose oh Lida Rose…'_

Loki watched in slight awe (not that he would admit to it) as Darcy quietly sung to the baby in her arms. Not only were the blue eyes he was so baffled by standing a mere eight feet away, but they were as expressive as ever. Flashing with fear, concern, protectiveness, sereneness, any emotion one could be allowed in this type of situation, it was showed in those blue eyes.

' _Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, to get the sun back in the sky… Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, about a thousand kisses shy.'_ Darcy began to repeat, the babe merely whimpering, the God of Lies briefly questioned if that was all to the song until the girl abruptly stopped. Blue eyes wide with a sudden fear of something at the entrance to the alley. Turning, she took off down the alley and ran out the opposite end, baby blabbering in her arms.

Loki turned just in time to see a man with dark, tangled hair and a metal arm chase after her. Gun in hand and a determined scowl on his face. He obviously meant Darcy Lewis harm.

Scowling after the man, Loki pursued.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Darcy didn't understand why the Winter Soldier was after her. Up until two years ago, she was basically nothing. And even now she wasn't that important. She went from Tony Stark's personal assistant to the Avenger's basic-babysitter. Sure, she played a small part in the making of Ultron and she did taser the God of Thunder and became a 'Shield Maiden of Midgard' in his eyes, but for crying out loud, all she did was push pencils and run reports! She was nothing the Winter Soldier should be concerned about.

Yet, here she was. Running away from a HYDRA gunman with a baby girl in her arms as said gunman chased her.

Darcy tried to recall what Steve and Sam told her about him; He was Steve's best friend form the good ol' days before MTV and Cellphones and Nicholas Cage ruined it all. He supposedly died in WWII when he fell off a train but surprise, surprise, he was one of the people HYDRA sent after Nick Fury and eventually Captain America. Although, from what Natasha and Steve told her, he seemed to have some type of breakthrough in memory, because he saved Steve from the whole Helicarrier-crashing-mess last year. But then he had to go and disappear before Steve could talk to him.

 _Well, so much for disappearing._ Darcy thought dryly as she heard more gunfire behind her. Realizing that the Winter Soldier (for whatever stupid or inane reason) was out for her blood, Darcy looked down at the baby girl and frowned. "I can't drag you into this."

Glancing around the streets frantically, Darcy put on a little extra speed before ducking behind a parked car. Covering the little girl's mouth with her hand, Darcy tried not to breathe or make a sound. Apparently, she had some sort of Asgardian-Guardian-Angel because the Soldier ran past her. Once he was a few blocks away, she balanced the baby on her hip before doubling back.

Darcy noticed a bunch of people running into what looked like some Off brand-Starbuck-Coffee shop. Looking down at the baby, she nodded and darted across the street, narrowly dodging police cars and other running civilians.

"Get inside, quick! Get inside!" An old man with a bushy white mustache and glasses was helping a security guard ( _Why would a coffee shop need a security guard?_ ) corral panicked people into the building.

"Excuse me, sir?" Darcy ran up to the old man. "Could you take her? Her mother got shot and I couldn't leave her in the middle of the streets."

Darcy handed the old man the baby, who protested mildly to being handed off, as he nodded. "Of course, do you know what her name is?"

"I dunno. Like I said I found her in the streets and her mom got shot," Darcy blinked at the old man and frowned, "Do I know you from somewhere? Because you look really familiar."

The old man shrugged slightly and began to bounce the baby girl. "What'd you mean 'familiar'?"

"It's just… Were you at some party at the Avenger's Tower a few weeks ago? Cause there was some guy there…"

"Kid, the closest I've ever been to super heroes were the ones I wrote for the comics back in 1945."

"Oh, well, it's just you looked really familiar and I thought…" Darcy trailed off, scratching the back of her neck nervously. "Never mind it was..." She trailed off, glancing behind her. _Fuck my miserable life!_ The Winter Soldier was only two blocks away, on the other side of the street. He must have realized she gave him the slip and doubled back. Darcy had to get out of there, _now_.

"Hey, miss, get inside. You'll be safe in there." The older man tried to say.

Not wanting to risk the old man or the little girl or anyone's life, Darcy scrambled for a lie. "Uh, thanks for everything and all but I've really gotta find my friend. Thanks for taking her, good luck, bye!"

"Wait, maybe your friend's in here!" The old man called after her. A few gunshots rang in the air and he was pulled into the coffee shop by the security guard. The baby girl in his arms started crying again.

The old man watched from the windows as someone with a metal arm chased after the young girl, a gun in hand. The old man's eyes widened once he realized what the girl just did. "God help that poor, poor little girl."

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Darcy ran for as far as she could. Not being all that could in gym class or any sport as a child and any lack of physical activity now making her a bit angry at herself at the current moment. "Why must I not be good at physical activities?" She muttered.

Glancing behind her, she saw the Winter Soldier picking up the pace. Remembering from her elementary school days of paying tag, that if you ran in different directions it'd be harder for a person to catch you, Darcy made a quick left turn,

Into a dead-end alleyway.

"Of course, why the hell not?" Darcy deadpanned. Light footsteps behind her alerted Darcy to the Winter Soldier's appearance. Turning, she found him loading a shotgun before aiming it at her. "Target spotted," he ground out.

"Look, you don't wanna kill me, I know Iron Man, and once he finds out what happened—"

 _Bang!_ Darcy ducked out of the way. She started to back away, the Winter Soldier slowly followed her.

"Does it matter to you that I know Captain America?"

 _Bang!_

"Black Widow?"

 _Bang!_

"Falcon?"

 _Bang!_

"How many bullets do you have in that damn thing? It's a shot gun!"

 _Bang!_ Darcy's back hit the wall as she pulled out Electabuzz. "Dude, I tased the God of Thunder, I am not afraid to shoot a weirdo with a metal arm and an angry-duck face!"

Darcy's beloved Electabuzz was knocked from her hands before she was shoved to the ground. To be frank, this wasn't how she thought she would go, a bullet to the chest by the Winter Soldier. She honestly thought Jane's cooking would do her in. Her Chicken Parmesan was (sometimes literally) to die for.

The Soldier held her down by the shoulder and aimed his gun at her chest. Thinking quickly, Darcy used her free hand to smack his gun away. He followed its path and then looked at her blankly. Darcy nodded, feeling a bit smug. "Yeah, I can do that too!"

He growled at her before punching her in the face. Repeatedly. Not really thinking, Darcy kicked her legs frantically and felt instant relief when one of her feet collided with his chest and it sent him doubling over.

Darcy, as quickly as she could due do the fact his punches left her seeing stars, got to her feet and made her way to the alleyway's exit. Only to have the HYDRA gunman grab her ankle and yank her back. Kicking blindly, Darcy felt her heel connect with his shoulder, but he was ready for it. One hand around her waist, the other holding her knee, he picked her up only to slam her to the ground moments later. Darcy moaned in pain. Grabbing her by the hair, he roughly slammed her head against the ground a couple times.

If Darcy was seeing a few stars before, then she was seeing the stars and flying birds from the old cartoon shows.

The Soldier quickly pinned her to the ground, each of his knees on either side of her stomach, before his hands wrapped around her neck.

Darcy's eyes bulged out as she strangled her. She tried to pry his away, but she wasn't strong enough to push him away, even if she didn't have a concussion. Still, she fought on, trying desperately to push his hands away from her neck and trying to wriggle out from underneath him. She could feel herself losing oxygen, there were dark spots dancing at the corners of her vision.

As the Winter Soldier tightened his grip on her neck, Darcy noticed something. His eyes… His face… something seemed off. Recalling the memory of the little girl she saved and the old man in the restaurant, her theory seemed to be right.

His eyes didn't seem as… alert as theirs. As if he wasn't entirely there or… he wasn't completely in control. She remembered what he said when he first spotted her, "Target spotted". It was so mechanical, robotic… so inhuman that it didn't seem right coming out of him. Sure, he worked for HYDRA (whom everyone figured played some sort of brainwashing card on the guy) but he was still human. Flawed, imperfect, and not a machine.

Darcy could feel herself getting weaker. The dark spots seemed to grow and grow with each passing second. They went from being at the corners of her vision to dancing around in front of her. Her grip on his hands slackened as Darcy desperately gasped for breath.

It all happened so suddenly, Darcy wasn't sure if she saw right.

She felt the Soldier's grip on her neck loosen as he was suddenly yanked away. Call it lack of oxygen, all the adrenaline in her system, or the bump on the head she received from the soldier earlier, but just before she black out, Darcy could've sworn she saw a flash of green and gold tackling the Winter Soldier to the ground.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 **More to come if I get a lot of reviews! (Aren't I a tease?)**


	10. 9: Why's your bodyguard down here too?

**So… How'd you guys like the cliffhanger? I kid, I know you weren't expecting it, but it had to be done. Also, I am** _ **loving**_ **you guys! Eight new reviews, keep it up, seriously—I love all of you!**

 **Speaking of reviews, had a couple guest one so I'll respond to those.**

 _ **Guest:**_ **I'm happy you like my story so much! The man from the Starbucks was Stan Lee, basic founder of Marvel comics and he makes little cameos in every Marvel movie. And I'm glad you liked the scene between Darcy and the little girl (and you're right, so much trauma for a baby girl). Bewitched Loki, eh?... LOVE IT! Seriously, that perfectly describes Loki right now. I hope this was quick enough for you, thanks for the review!**

 _ **AislingSmith:**_ **I'm glad that you liked the Stan Lee cameo. And I imagine Loki is in his full armor… well, full armor minus the helmet, obviously. And yes, he used an illusion spell, but the sudden trip to Earth kinda took a toll on him so he's a bit weak. Thanks for the review!**

 _ **Cocoa4Christmas:**_ **I think anyone in the Thor-fandom has at least** _ **some**_ **amount of like for Loki… And then there's the Loki-Army and Tasertricks thing. I'm happy you like the story and thanks for the review!**

 _ **Guest 2**_ **: And** _ **I**_ **understood your reference *wink, wink*. And yeah, I couldn't resist putting Stan Lee in. I'm glad that you like the story!**

 **Disclaimer:** _ **Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You**_ **is property of Meredith Wilson. I own nothing.**

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 _Darcy was only four years old when she broke her arm. She was riding her bike with brother when she hit a pot hole and fell off. The doctor told her daddy that she had broken through both bones in her forearm. The doctor told her daddy that the bones were so broken, she had to go have a special doctor's appointment so they can put the bones back in place._

 _She had been to the doctor earlier that day and they had given her a temporary cast. Lying on her bed in her bedroom, her stuffed animal Mr. Bun-Bun tucked under her non-broken arm, Darcy looked at her temporary cast and sniffled slightly before she started to cry._

 _Tomorrow, the day she'd be going to her special doctor's appointment to get her bones back in place, was her best friend Savanna's birthday party. There would be a blow-up-bounce house with as slide, water balloons fights, a clown, and marble cake with cream cheese frosting dyed purple (her and Savanna's favorite color) and she'd have to miss it!_

 _Not to mention Darcy and her mommy had gone to the store and got Savanna the_ Disney Princess Sing-along Microphone _she had been wanting, the perfect gift and Darcy would have to miss all of it._

" _Why did I have to fall off my bike?" Darcy asked Mr. Bun-Bun tearfully. "I'm a big girl now, big girls don't do stupid stuff like falling off bikes!"_

 _The thought of missing her best friend's birthday party and the fact she wouldn't be able to swim for the rest of the summer ("Casts aren't waterproof, Cece." Aaron told her sympathetically. "No swimming until that cast comes off."), Darcy started to cry. What else could she do? Life for the little four-year-old girl just became too much to handle, the pain in her arm and the pain of missing out on something fun just hurt her too much._

 _Darcy hugged Mr. Bun-Bun closer to her face, her tears staining his bright lilac fur. She didn't hear her father's footsteps as he entered her room. Devin Lewis saw his daughter, his baby girl, crying and he frowned. He knew it upset her to miss Savanna's birthday party, but he didn't want her to be in pain. His wife, Elisa Lewis, was soon by his side. Elisa frowned, maternal instincts kicking in and her heart going out to her youngest child._

 _Quietly, the husband and wife made their way to their daughter's bed. Situating themselves and Darcy so the child's head was on Elisa's lap and her little legs lay across Devin's lap, all the while the husband and wife made sure to never move her broken arm._

 _Devin sang softly as he rubbed small, comforting circles in his daughter's back_ 'Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, to get the sun back in the sky… Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, about a thousand kisses shy. Ding dong ding, I can hear the chapel bell chime…' _Darcy's sobs slowly turned to quieted sniffles as she turned her neck into her mother's lap._ 'Ding dong ding, at the least suggestion… I'll pop the question. Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, without a sweetheart to my name. Lida Rose, now everyone knows that I am hoping you're the same…' _Devin smiled sweetly at his daughter as he comforted her, her sniffles coming few and far between now, though there were still tear stains on her little cheek._ 'So here is my love song, not fancy or fine… Lida Rose, oh won't you be mine—Lida Rose, oh Lida Rose oh Lida Rose…'

 _Elisa smiled softly, stroking her daughter's dark hair as she picked up where her husband left off_ 'Dream of now, dream of then, dream of a love song… That might have been. Do I love you? Oh yes, I love you, and I'll bravely tell you, but only when we dream again. Sweet and low… Sweet and low… How sweet that mem'ry, how long ago. Forever… Oh yes, forever. Will I ever tell you? Oh no…'

 _The husband and wife smiled as Darcy cracked a tired, tearful smile_ _continuing_ 'Lida Rose, oh Lida Rose oh Lida Rose. (Dream of now,) Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, (Dream of then,) to get the sun back in the sky… (Dream of a love song…) Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, (That might have been) about a thousand kisses shy. (Do I love you?) Ding dong ding, (Oh yes, I love you) I can hear the chapel bell chime… (And I'll bravely tell you) Ding dong ding, (But only when we dream again) at the least suggestion… I'll pop the question. (Sweet and Low) Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, (Sweet and low…) without a sweetheart to my name. (How sweet that mem'ry,) Lida Rose, now everyone knows (How long ago) that I am hoping you're the same… (Forever…) So here is my love song, (Oh yes, forever) not fancy or fine… (Will I ever tell you?) Lida Rose, oh won't you be (Oh no…) mine—Lida Rose, oh Lida Rose oh Lida Rose…'

 _Darcy closed her eyes, her parents always sang that song to her to calm her down or get her to go to sleep, and it always worked, one way or another. Carefully, as so not to move her arm, Elisa and Devin Lewis removed themselves from underneath their daughter's head and legs respectively and proceeded to tuck her in to bed. Gently laying her and Mr. Bun-Bun's head on the pillow and pulling the comforter up and gently placing it around her broken arm._

 _Elisa Lewis leaned down and kissed her daughter's cheek. "Goodnight, baby girl."_

" _Night-night, mommy." Darcy whispered._

" _I love you,"_

" _I love you too, mommy."_

 _Elisa kissed her daughter's cheek one last time before exiting her room, lingering at the door as she watched her husband kneel down by her daughter's beside. "You are going to be one strong woman when you grow up, Darcy. You wanna know how I know?"_

" _How?"_

" _Because you're a Lewis." Devin smiled at his little girl, all the pride a father could have for his daughter radiating from his smile. "And a Lewis is always tough and always brave."_

" _But I'm scared about my sir-jury tomorrow."_

 _Devin chuckled and stroked his daughter's hair. "Surgery, pumpkin. And admitting your scared makes you extra brave."_

" _Why?"_

" _Because it takes a brave person to admit when they're scared."_

 _Darcy smiled, all the love a child could give their father shining in her smile. "I love you, daddy."_

 _He kissed her forehead. "I love you too, pumpkin."_

" _Do you love me to the moon an' back?" Darcy asked knowingly._

" _I love you to Neverland and back!" Devin smiled. "And if anyone else says otherwise, I'll hand 'em over to Captain Hook."_

" _Make sure they walk the plank!" Darcy finished. It was their nightly ritual, whenever her daddy would tuck her in, Darcy would ask him how much he loved her and he respond as such. He had been reading her the story of Peter Pan since she was two, but they had done their little ritual ever since she could form sentences._

 _With one last peck on the cheek, Devin Lewis left the room (making sure Darcy's_ My Little Pony _nightlight was on), shutting off her bedroom lights on his way out. Elisa met him at the doorway and gave him a loving kiss before the two left._

 _Darcy hugged Mr. Bun-Bun closer, staring at her nightlight as her eyes slowly closed. The pain in her arm almost forgotten_

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

As Darcy slowly came back to consciousness, she realized she was neither in the alley she was knocked out in nor her childhood bedroom. Nor was there any pain in her arm as she awoke, but a small, aching pain at the back of her head and around her neck.

Other than that, she was ok.

Blinking her eyes open, Darcy tried to distinguish where she was by the blurry shapes she saw before her. "…arcy? Darcy? Darcy, honey, are you ok?" A light, comforting voice asked.

Darcy hummed uncertainly in response.

"It might be a minute, Jane." A new voice informed the first one. "She had one heck of a bump on her head forming when I got her."

"Does she have a concussion?"

"I'd be surprised if she _didn't_ have one."

"Where am I?" Darcy mumbled.

"You're in the hospital. Well, HQ's hospital" An accented, female voice told her. "How're you feeling?"

"Like someone used my head as a punching bag," She narrowed her eyes and made out Jane, Tony, and Wanda's figures out of the mass of blurs. "Would one of you like to explain what the hell happened to me, or do you just wanna stare at my gorgeous mug all day?"

The three exchanged hesitant glances before Tony sat down at the foot of her hospital issued bed. "HYDRA planned some sort of attack. We're not sure who or what they were after, but they attacked downtown New York City."

Darcy, in her confused state, tried to sit up, but a swift pain in the back of her head stopped that as quick as it started. Wanda helped her ease back down on to the pillow, "Your head might still hurt. It was banged against the ground last we checked."

"And now's the part of the story where one of you tells me who did that and why."

Jane grabbed her hand and frowned, "Darcy… You were attacked by… By the Winter Soldier."

It was like a floodgate in Darcy's brain just opened as memories came flooding back to her. Finishing up her Shawarma and hearing the gunshots, the mother dead in the road, the baby girl she carried to safety and later sang to, the Old Man who helped her by taking the baby, being attacked by the Winter Soldier, she remembered it all.

"Why did he chase me?"

"We don't know that either." Tony said. "He just did… Seemed pretty intent on killing you, though."

"If you wanna know why that is, you're gonna have to ask him."

"Oh, believe me, we're trying." Natasha announced as she and Steve walked into the room. Steve winced, "How ya doing, Darcy?"

"Everything from the neck up hurts like a bastard."

"Language. Darcy." Jane teasingly chided, ignoring Steve's glare.

Natasha smiled in sympathy, handing her a pocket mirror. "Everything from the neck up looks like it hurts."

It did look that way. Bruised cheeks, bandaged nose, a black eye, a split lip, Darcy frowned as she tentatively touched her nose, only to jerk it away. "You're lucky it wasn't broken. It only got bruised badly. The bandage is there because you got one heck of a cut there…"

"Yeah," She gestured to her face as she lowered the mirror as to see her neck, "Pretty sure this isn't lucky." The bruises on her neck were shaped like his fingers, just thinking about it made her neck hurt all over again. "What'd you mean you're trying?"

"We picked him up after Shellhead over here dropped you off. Someone, thank Asgard, knocked him out so transportation was a cinch." Natasha explained, sitting down on Jane's arm rest. "Getting him to talk, however…"

Darcy nodded in understanding before turning to look at Steve, "How you doing, Stars-and-Stripes?"

He exhaled slowly. "As well as I can, I guess."

Darcy reached out and squeezed his hand comfortingly, he offered a small smile of thanks in return. That's when a particular question popped in her head, "How did I get here?"

"National Guardsman found you," A new voice explained, "dropped you off at the Red Cross. Tony's limo just so happened to be driving by when he saw you, called us, pulled a few strings and was able to bring you up here."

Darcy turned and smiled at Phil Coulson as he entered the room. "Guy who stole my iPod, you're alive!"

Phil smiled, "Nice to see you too, Miss Lewis."

"Darcy," the girl corrected before sticking out her hand expectantly, "now can I have my iPod back?"

"Darcy!" Jane scolded as Tony laughed.

"No need to worry, Dr. Foster." Phil pulled out an older generation iPod in a plastic bag out of his coat. "I figured she'd might say something like that, so I came prepared."

Darcy smiled, gleefully taking the technology from his hand, "You are God-send, Phil Coulson!"

"Thank you, now I was wondering if I might get a couple questions answered."

Darcy wrinkled her nose but nodded, "We can try, but I'm not sure how well I'll answer them."

"Fair enough," Coulson nodded, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to Jane and Natasha, "What we're you doing before the attack?"

"Um… I got a text that looked like it was from Tony, but I guess it wasn't. He told me if I hung around in New York for another hour, he'd be back and we'd play Sherlock and Watson until we figured it out… He called Sherlock, btw."

"Again?" Steve asked, sending Tony a somewhat disappointed look.

"I'm always Sherlock!" Tony protested.

"She's more Sherlock than you'll ever be." Natasha added.

"So," Coulson started, getting everyone back on track, "you received a text that looked like it was from Stark… but wasn't?"

"Basically, yeah."

Phil hummed thoughtfully, _that_ seemed suspicious. "Ok, but what about after that? What did you do for the hour Stark was gone?"

"I had F.R.I.D.A.Y call in a Shawarma order for me—"

"Well that explains the charge to my account." Tony muttered

"—And I walking there and eating there took about half an hour. I was going to go do some window shopping, but then I heard gun shots." Darcy paused, trying to remember what happened next. "Um, a lot of people pushed me to the ground after that, trying to get away and all…"

"Security footage we found caught you carrying a baby girl with you. Care to explain?"

"Uh, yeah, that. I, um, saw the girl's mother lying dead in the street… The Soldier guy shot her and he was about to shoot the baby too. I couldn't let that happen so I dove in and saved her. I used Electabuzz, my Electro-Magnetic Pulse gun," Darcy explained, noting Phil's confusion over Electabuzz, "and blasted him back. It kept him away for a little awhile, anyway. So, I took the girl and ran. I calmed her down the best I could, but he was still chasing me."

"What'd you do with the girl?"

"I ran into some old guy who was helping get people inside some coffee shop safely, I gave her to him and left because Metal-Arm was still chasing me. Little later he cornered me in an alley and I fought back. He beat me down and… I… I don't really remember much after that."

But she did. Darcy remembered a vision in green and gold tackling the Winter Soldier to the ground. _Green and Gold…_ Darcy thought. _Green and Gold… why does that sound familiar to me?_

"Alright, this last question's just out of pure curiosity, but how were you able to fight back against The Winter Soldier so easily?"

Darcy smirked wryly and jabbed her thumb toward Natasha, "What? I'm going to spend two and a half years with her and Merida and _not_ pick up a thing or two?"

"Merida?" Phil chuckled, "I'm not going to lie, haven't heard that one before." The Agent stood up, nodding at Darcy. "Well, if we come across any other problems, I'll get in touch with you."

"How long have you been alive?" Darcy asked randomly, Wanda and Jane face-palmed as she did.

"Little over four years now, I think." Phil replied, heading towards the door.

"Well thanks for telling us, Agent-guy!" Darcy called out sarcastically.

"Get well soon, Darcy!"

The room was silent for a few minutes as they digested what Darcy just revealed. The vision in green and gold played back in her head and Darcy's eyebrows furrowed. To the best of her knowledge, National Guards didn't wear green or gold in their uniforms…

"So… Some National Guard guy found me, took me to the Red Cross, Tony just so happened to see me and he picked me up and flew me back here? That's what happened."

"Yeah, pretty much." Tony nodded.

"It's not like any of us could've saved you." Natasha pointed out. "We would've, but we weren't really there."

Darcy would have believed it, she wanted to believe it, hell she was _ready_ to believe it. At that moment, Darcy would've believed there story; that a National Guardsmen that had been called to help control the crowd had found her and brought her to the Red Cross, where Tony spotted her in his chic-as-all-hell limousine and proceeded to fly her back to the Avenger's HQ, where she could be taken care of in private without the pushy-ness of the press hounding her for answers. She would've believed that story,

 _If_ she hadn't seen the pinched expressions on Jane and Wanda's faces.

"Alright, I was just checking. You guys wouldn't lie to me."

Her friends and employers and roommates just lied to her… Darcy couldn't help but wonder why.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Darcy tried to keep her eyes open, but God help her it was just too difficult. She hadn't slept much the previous night. Images of mothers dead in streets, screaming babies, visions of green and gold, and gunshots kept her up. Not to mention, his eyes…

She had only seen them for a minute, but Darcy knew something wasn't right. The Winter Solder was no doubt subjected to horrible torture and pain during his time with HYDRA, but even then, Darcy could never imagine anyone with eyes like his. Dark, unfeeling, soulless, dead…

" _What if I knocked you unconscious now?"_

" _It won't change the past."_

" _But it'd make the present so much nicer."_

Wanda and Vision laughed, _The Big Bang Theory_ playing on TV. Darcy had taken it upon herself to show Wanda finer point of American Culture, and to show Vision the finer points of being human. Apparently, _Big_ _Bang_ was a success.

"This is really funny, Darcy." Wanda laughed, turning to see her friend nodding off on the edge of the sofa. "Darcy? Darcy!"

"I'm awake! I'm awake…" Darcy replied quickly, jerking into a sitting position.

Vision's forehead creased in a frown, "Are you alright, Darcy?"

"I dunno, maybe?" The girl in questioned sighed. "I didn't get much sleep last night."

Wanda hummed thoughtfully, "Again? That's two nights in a row."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Darcy groaned, sluggishly pushing herself off the couch and making her way toward the kitchen. Vision and Wanda exchanged uneasy glances just as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get the door, if you get the Darcy." Wanda said. Vision nodded and (literally) floated over to the kitchen as Wanda made her way to the door.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Vision landed a respectful distance behind Darcy as the brunette rummaged around the cabinet. "I'm grabbing some Hershey bars that Jane usually hides—don't tell her I know where she hides them. You want some?" Darcy paused as she offered the chocolate bar to the android. "Wait, can you even eat?"

Vision smiled. "I can eat if I want to, but I can survive if I don't."

Darcy eyed him before shrugging, "You're just a biological mystery wrapped in a gold cape, aren't you?"

He laughed. "That's not what I came here to discuss, Darcy, and you know it."

"Yeah… Look, I don't know why I can't sleep… Ok, that's a lie. I know why I can't sleep. It's just, I dunno, something about the look in the Soldier's eyes, it didn't seem right."

"What was the look in his eyes?"

"That's the thing, though, there wasn't any look! It was like he wasn't really there, like he wasn't in complete control, like he wasn't alert at all… He might've experience some traumatic shit, but that look in his eyes… I don't think HYDRA gave that to him."

"Darcy, what're you suggesting?"

"I'm not suggesting anything, Vizh. I just get the feeling something's Rotten in the State of Denmark." Upon seeing Vision's confused face, Darcy elaborated. "Shakespeare reference. Y'know _Hamlet_? 'Something is rotten in the state of Denmark' that whole spiel?"

"Yes?" Vision shook his head no, smiling sheepishly.

"Remind me to lend you a few of Shakespeare's books, I think you'd like them." Darcy took a bite of her chocolate bar just as Wanda skipped into the room, smiling happily.

"Someone's here to see you, Darcy." She said in a sing-song voice.

"Alright, what's got you perky?"

"I'm just excited to see how my friend will react to her boyfriend showing up." Wanda said, expecting her nails.

"Look, Wans, I don't know what you're getting at but—wait, boyfriend showing up?" Darcy pushed passed Wanda and bolted into the living room and squealed loudly once she arrived.

"Ian!" Said man laughed gleefully as his girlfriend launched herself into his arms.

"I missed you too, love." He smiled bashfully as she kissed him.

"When did you get back?" Darcy smiled brightly.

"My plane got in about an hour ago, I just called up Erik and Jane and they sent a car to pick me up." Ian kissed his girlfriend before adding, "I made them swear not to tell you because I wanted to surprise you."

"You're a dork," Darcy said lovingly, pulling Ian down for a passionate kiss

…That was interrupted by Wanda clearing her throat.

Blushing, and remembering they weren't alone, both parties turned to see Vision and Wanda awkwardly shuffling their feet by the far wall. "Well," Wanda cleared her throat again, "I just learned the meaning of 'Third Wheel'."

"Sorry," Ian said bashfully.

"We can do this later if you guys—"

"No, no. Uh, you two keep doing what you were doing… We'll just go and bug Rhodey or something."

"We will?" Vision asked, a bit confused by what was happening.

"Yes. We will, y'know, _give them some privacy_." The android seemed to understand that, his eyes widening in meaning.

"Ah, well, alright then." Vision actually walked to the door this time, holding it open for Wanda, who shrugged on a red fleece jacket. "We'll be going now."

"Don't do anything stupid," Wanda told the two, before smirking and winking at them saucily, "and for God's sake, you better use protection."

Wanda dragged Vision out before he could question her meaning, and when the door closed it left a blushing Darcy and Ian behind. After a moment, Ian awkwardly coughed. "So… You live with her now?"

"Well, yeah." Darcy smiled at him. "And now you do too!"

"But, didn't she, I dunno, _help_ Ultron?"

Darcy stared at him, her smile gone. "Technically, yeah, but she was just confused. She's like, one of the nicest people you will ever meet."

"Well, it's just… I want to make sure it's safe and all."

"Ian, babe, trust me. Wanda won't hurt us. But for future reference, try not to mention her brother around her, she's still grieving… Even if she doesn't let us see it." Darcy frowned at the memory of Pietro sacrificing himself to save her and Clint. Shaking her head, Darcy pulled her boyfriend (whom she hadn't seen in months) onto the couch. "Now, not that Wanda's suggestion wasn't a good one, but I kinda just want to talk to you right now."

Ian nodded and hugged her close. "Alright, what do you wanna hear?"

"How's your mom?" His mom, Kaitlyn Boothby, was a nice old woman who had suffered with lung cancer. That's why Ian couldn't come home as quickly as he could, his mom's cancer flared up again and she was put in the hospital and Ian wanted to help his dad until his mother was ok to come home.

"Mum's ok—she and Dad send their love. They got her on some new medication and they have a nurse coming every week to check up on her." Ian explained.

"That's good. I like her, she's one of the coolest moms ever."

"She likes you too. Went to visit her and the hospital and she chastised me for being there and now with you, no joke."

Darcy laughed. "That woman has my respect. Ok, so other than your mom being ok and normal, how was your time with Jane? I know she can get pretty out-there when she goes into Science-mode."

Ian sighed, "Where to begin? Alright, has she always been a horrible cook?"

"Yep! Woman couldn't cook to save her life."

"Exactly. What else? Oh, the way she talked on and on, even when I wasn't there, crazy. And I practically had to shove her in the bathroom to get her to shower."

Darcy chuckled, "Been there, done that."

"And all the work! Every day, she had me log in data into the computer, and I could barely understand her handwriting as it was."

"Heh, yeah… That is pretty bad."

"And all the coffee runs, I mean honestly, I have a degree in Astrophysics and I'm well on my way to a doctorate. I think I can do a little more than that of an average assistant. How did you put up with it?"

Darcy understood that Jane could be a handful at times (Besides the Avengers themselves, Jane was one of the most child-like adults she's ever seen. Second only to Tony Stark), but Ian took on no more than she did when she was still Jane's assistant. She handled it well and without any major complaints (a few here and there, but they were about minor things). Darcy felt Ian didn't really have much room to complain.

But, seeing as how her boyfriend whom she hadn't seen in months was here with her, Darcy decided against arguing with him. Sighing tiredly, she snuggled into him and pressed her lips to his neck. "I'm glad you're back, Intern."

"Not an Intern anymore." Ian pointed out as his phone buzzed in his pocket. Pulling out to check the message, his face grew worried as he unconsciously glanced between his phone and Darcy. His girlfriend felt him tense and frowned, "Everything ok?"

Ian stared at his phone for a second longer before setting it on the end table, smiling sweetly, although a bit tightly. "Yeah. Just my dad making sure I got home ok."

Darcy nodded and the couple snuggled deeper into the couch, their attention diverted from the rest of the world by _Big Bang Theory_. After a while, Ian frowned in thought.

"Can I ask you a question, love?"

"Uh-huh."

"Thor's back in Asgard, right?"

"Yeah. He left a couple weeks ago. Why?"

"If he's back in Asgard, what does that mean for him and Jane?"

That made Darcy think. Last time something like this happened, Jane tried to move on but it didn't work out so well. Now that he was gone…

"I… I'm not sure."

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"Mm, this food's quite good!" Ian gushed after swallowing his chicken salad.

"Hey, the best for by guy after months of having to choke down Jane's cooking." Ian, herself, and the Avengers (minus Steve) laughed at Darcy's little jest while Jane glared jokingly at her friend.

"I'm better than Thor, that's all I got to say on that matter." The astrophysicist said, taking a bite of French fries.

"Oh jeez, remember that time he tried to make Pop-tarts and he set the entire kitchen on fire?" Natasha asked Darcy, mirth sparkling in her eyes.

"Wait, wait, Thor did _what_ now?" Sam asked, choking on laughter.

"Ok," Darcy swallowed her spoonful of Mac and Cheese, "so Thor gets hungry in the middle of the night and I guess his 'godly' brain thinks it's a great idea to make some Pop-tarts… Only he tried making them in the actual oven, with the foil around it…" Wanda, Rhodey, Sam, and even Vision were practically in stiches they were laughing so much.

Ian laughed, although it sounded hollow to everyone else at the table. "Kinda like you setting that couch on fire, huh love?"

"One; You promised you would never bring that up again, two; that was an accident and you all know it, and three; I'm never going to get rid of that damn couch thing am I?"

As the Avenger shook their heads sympathetically, Ian chuckled. "Still, I can tell you taught Thor how to cook."

Darcy narrowed her eyes, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's just, well, the girl who set a couch on fire teaching a God to cook… That can't be a good result."

"Well it's not like it's my fault he set the kitchen on fire."

"That's not what I'm saying—"

"Really, cause that's kinda what it sound like."

"Darcy, I know it wasn't your fault Thor set the kitchen on fire."

"Then why did you make it sound like it was?"

Before a full scale argument could break out, Steve plopped down between Natasha and Rhodey, a ham and cheese sandwich in hand. "Hey," he said dejectedly.

Sam frowned, "Everything alright, man?"

"I just went to see Bucky."

The whole table froze, no one moved, they all just stared at Steve. Natasha broke the silence first, "Well…?"

"Well what?"

"What'd he say?"

Steve slowly unwrapped the plastic from his sandwich. "He didn't recognize me."

Natasha and Sam exchanged knowing glances, they figured he wouldn't but they didn't want to say anything. Rhodey spoke up next. "Does he know anything about the attack he, er… Lead?"

Natasha glared at him and the War Machine shrunk back in his seat. Steve shook his head. "No. He has no memory of anything about the attack except…" He glanced at Darcy, expression confused but curious. "He asked if you were ok."

To prevent herself from doing a spit take onto Vision and Jane, Darcy opted to choke on her water instead. Jane patted her back as Darcy set her water down and coughed out a "What?"

"Yeah… He was, um… wondering if you were ok. I told him you were alive and he seemed to relax, I guess."

Darcy stared at her Mac and Cheese, appetite long gone. The Avengers, Ian, and Jane glancing back at her and Steve in surprise. Darcy stirred her lunch idly with her fork, memories of dead, unfeeling, machine-like eyes running though her head.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"I still can't believe he called me out like that at lunch today. Can you believe him?" Darcy paced back and forth behind Wanda as she tried to do some calculations on Project D-12. "He made it sound like I'm some super-mega-klutz who can't be trusted with anything fragile. I am not like that!"

"I'm not touching that one." Wanda remarked dryly.

"He's been like this for months now. I call to check up on him, see how he's doing, and he starts to pick a fight! Then he complains about Jane and Erik like it's a burden for him to do the simplest of tasks, like Jane and Erik are some annoying toddlers he was forced to take care of!"

"Not touching that one, either."

"Can you at least pretend to care right now? Like, maybe act like the typical white-girl-friend who complains with her friend about the shit her boyfriend does?"

"I've never been one of those girls, and I don't see how I could be one now." Wanda sent her a wry smirk before setting her pencil and calculator down and standing up. "Now can we please talk about something else, something besides annoying boyfriends and this damn Recognizer?"

"Run into a problem?"

"I've run into several, which one shall I bore you with?"

"Neither." Darcy eyed the notes she and Wanda have been compiling on the Neurological Recognizer. "Wish we knew where Banner was going with this… Or at the least he left better notes to follow, they're all over the place!"

"Didn't I say we should talk about something other than the Recognizer?"

"Right, sorry." Both girls stood in companionable silence before Darcy turned to Wanda and asked "Why do you think Metal-Arm asked if I was ok?"

Wanda cracked her knuckles and shrugged. "I don't know. Because he was concerned about you?"

"Yeah, cause he seemed pretty concerned when he tried to kill me."

"I'm just saying, it might be a possibility. Didn't he remember Steve after that whole Helicarrier mess last year?"

"Maybe?" Darcy chewed her lip uncertainly. "Steve, Nat, and Sam never really clarified that."

Wanda shrugged. "Well, no way we can know."

Thinking of the Soldier's eyes, and Wanda's off-handed comment made a lightbulb go off in Darcy's head. "Wanda, you're an Avenger, right?"

"No, I just go to the trainings and meetings because they look like fun."

"Ok, hear me out… As an Avenger, you have full level clearance to everywhere in this facility, right?"

Wanda raised a brow. "Yes… why do you ask?"

"I need you to sneak me into the holding cells underneath HQ."

For a moment, Wanda resembled a fish out of water, the way her mouth open and closed in shock. "I'm sorry, I think I misheard you. It sounded like you just said you wanted me to sneak you into the holding cells…"

"I did just say that… And I want you to do it."

"W-why? Why do you need me to sneak you in there?"

"Cause I only have Level 5 clearance, I can only go down there if I get Hill or Steve or Coulson's permission. But I know that if they give me permission, everyone would be listening in and I need to talk to Metal-Arm in private."

"What's so important that you talk to him in private?"

"Look, will you sneak me in or not?"

Darcy almost _swore_ she saw fear flash in Wanda's eyes for a second before it was replaced by uncertainty and nervousness. Finally, the witch steeled herself and shook her head. "I'm sorry Darcy, but I won't help you. And there is nothing you can do to convince me otherwise."

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"Damn you, you're convincing." Wanda grumbled as she and Darcy walked as quietly down the stairs as they could. Having just passed the security checkpoint—and the night guard—with ease, the girls made their way down the steps.

"Hey, the guard bought our half-baked story, didn't he?" Darcy asked. "Don't see why you're complaining." They had lied to the guard and said Coulson had sent them down here to question Bucky, and the guard had bought it.

"It's just… who knows what kind of people they keep down here."

"You and I both know _exactly_ what type of people we keep down here. And up until two days ago, things have been pretty quiet, so we haven't really had need of this place. Besides, they have like, what, _one_ prisoner down here?"

"More than one…" Wanda muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

"Why are you nervous? Are you claustrophobic or something? Cause you don't have to come down here with me…"

"No, no, no! I'm not claustrophobic per se, it's just… Look, let's just find the Soldier and get out of here."

"You're pretty eager for someone who was against this plan about five minutes ago."

"The sooner we find him, the sooner we can leave."

They reached the landing and were greeted with another imposing door. Wanda merely swiped her clearance card and the girls were let in. Row upon row of cells built into the walls with a maxi-glass front greeted them. Most looked clean and untouched, mostly because they were.

It didn't take them long to find the Soldier, he was in the second cell on the left and he was lying on the bed, trying to sleep. Darcy frowned, he looked so peaceful. Not at all like the weird man-machine thing that tried to kill her two days ago.

Darcy tapped on the glass lightly and he jerked awake, glancing around until he saw Darcy standing about an inch away from the glass, fist still raised for knocking. The Soldier's eyes widened in surprise. "You…"

"Hi… Bucky, right?"

He slowly stood up, studying her as he did. "That's what people keep telling me."

 _Right, no memory._ "Can I call you Bucky?"

He shrugged, "I'm ok with it."

"Ok… Um, so…"

"So…?"

"This is a lot harder than I thought it would be." By now, Bucky came to stand in front of her on the other side of the glass. _Wow, he's tall_ , Darcy thought dumbly. Snapping out of her thoughts, Darcy realized Bucky was staring at her face with a quiet, sad intensity that made her squirm a bit. "Uh… like what you see, slick?" Behind her, she heard Wanda face-palm.

His metal hand came up and his finger gestured toward her nose. "D-did I do that to you?"

Darcy mentally kicked herself, remembering what he had done to her face as he was attacking her. "Um… yes?"

Bucky sighed heavily, making his way back to the bed. "Great, just great! It's no wonder they didn't believe me."

Darcy's brows furrowed. "Who didn't believe you about what?"

"All these agents, that Captain guy… They didn't believe when I told them I didn't mean to… um, hurt you."

"Could've fooled me." Darcy mentally kicked herself again for her poor choice of words as Wanda, once again, face-palmed.

Bucky raised a brow and glanced around Darcy, seeming to notice Wanda for the first time. "Who are you?" he asked the girl leaning against the far wall.

"Uh… I'm Darcy's friend, Wanda. She made me sneak her in here… Choices were made…"

"Darcy?' He turned to the brunette at the front of his cell. "Is that your name?"

"Uh-huh."

"Oh, nice to meet you Darcy… officially anyway."

"Yeah, our first meeting wasn't very… _official_ …" Darcy cringed as Bucky frowned and glanced at his shoes.

"I am _this_ close to hitting you." Wanda held up her hand, showing the nearly miniscule amount of space between her pointer finger and thumb.

A long, awkward moment of silence passed between the three before Darcy asked "Why did you want to know if I was ok?"

Bucky looked surprised by her question, he stared at Darcy as if she had suddenly grown tow heads. But he eventually glanced down, looking ashamed. "I don't remember much before the… attack. But I remember some man telling me that I was going to attack thousands of innocent lives, and then I was going to kill the Avenger's assistant… Next thing I remember is you lying on the ground, not moving, as someone beat the heck out of me… I didn't want to hurt you or anyone. The fact that I might've killed you, without remembering that I did it… I needed to know if you were ok."

Darcy and Wanda stared at the Winter Soldier in shock. Not only did he just admit to being controlled by some unknown and hostile party, but he just admitted that the same unknown and hostile party wanted her dead. "Do you remember who the man was or what he looked like?"

Bucky laughed mirthlessly "What does it matter? No one believes me."

Darcy stared at the Winter Soldier, blue eyes carefully considerate. "Come over here."

"Uh… come again?"

"Come over here, I want to take a look at you."

Eyeing her warily, Bucky slowly made his way to the front of the cell. "Why?"

"I just… I need to see something for myself."

Darcy narrowed her eyes in concentration as she leaned toward the glass a little bit, studying the Winter Soldier's grey-blue eyes. She noticed that they watched her uncertainly (not that she could blame him) and that they darted between her and Wanda with wariness (again, couldn't blame him), but mostly, she noticed how awake he seemed and how alert he was. Darcy took a small step back from the glass, "Ok, I believe you."

Bucky's eyes widened. "What?"

"Yeah, what?" Wanda asked.

"Look at his eyes," Darcy told Wanda, the witch stepped closer but made sure to stand behind Darcy, "doesn't he seem so awake, so alert?"

Wanda nodded. "He wasn't like that when he attacked you, was he?"

"No." Darcy smiled slightly at the Winter Soldier. "He wasn't."

"You… you believe me?" Bucky asked, not wanting to believe it.

"Of course, when you attacked me, your eyes weren't so… awake as they are now. You acted and kinda looked like a machine."

"And now?"

"Now?" Darcy glanced at his eyes and smiled at him again. "Now you look human."

Bucky stared at the girl in front of his cell in shock. No one, not even the Captain, believed his story. It was a relief that this Darcy girl believed him. The same Darcy who he… oh.

"I'm sorry about trying to, you know…"

Darcy placed a hand on the glass, surprising Bucky. "Dude, it's ok. You weren't in control so it's not your fault."

Bucky stared at the young woman in front of him in utter shock as he realized that she (and maybe her Wanda friend) was the only one to believe him. He wasn't used to people treating him so nicely, and Darcy (and subsequently, Wanda) being here and giving him the benefit of the doubt was by the most amount of kindness he'd been given since God knows when.

"You know Darcy, you and your friends are some stand-up dames."

Darcy blushed slightly at the compliment, but smirked and raised a brow nonetheless. "Yikes, you are definitely a 1940's guy."

"No offense, but I've never heard anyone say 'dame' with the exception of movies." Wanda added. Bucky smiled sheepishly and looked down.

"No, no, it's fine!" Darcy assured him "It's actually kind of sweet." Now it was Bucky's turn to blush.

"Well, thanks for answering her questions…" Wanda said as she and Darcy slowly made their way towards the exit. Bucky thought for a moment, glancing down the hall.

"Hey, wait, I've got a question for you, Darcy!"

Darcy and Wanda stopped, exchanging curious glances before Darcy turned to face him. "Uh, ok. What's your question?"

"Why's your bodyguard down here too?"

All the color drained from Wanda's face, sudden fear flashing in her eyes as she looked at Darcy, who looked confused. "Bodyguard? I think you're confusing me with someone else, cause I don't have any 'bodyguards'."

"No, no that's one of the few things I remember." Bucky told her. "I was… well, you know, strangling you and he just pulled me off of you and beat me senseless. After that, he picked you up and you both were gone."

"You mean the National Guardsmen who saved me?"

"National Guardsmen?"

"Darcy, we should go. Now!" Wanda grabbed onto her friend's arm and tried to drag her away, but Darcy jerked her arm away.

"No, wait." She walked up and stood in front of Bucky's cell again. "What're you saying?"

"I'm saying, that even though I don't get how the 'modern' world works, I'm pretty sure no National Guard would ever wear something like he wore."

"What'd he wear?"

"Darcy, I will _pay_ you to leave here right now." Wanda begged.

"Uh… It was weird. Like, leather armor but colored green and gold."

 _Green and gold_? Darcy's eyes widened slightly. "Leather armor?" The brunette was starting to get a strange, foreboding sense of familiarity. "Where is this so called 'bodyguard'?"

"Darcy, if you love me at all, you will walk straight out that exit right now!" Wanda told her sternly.

"Down the hall, somewhere, I think?" Bucky nodded to his left and Darcy glanced down the hall. The brunette cast one last suspicious glance at the Winter Soldier before making her way down the hallway.

"Darcy, please, forget everything, let's just leave!" Wanda told her friend, trying to pull her down towards the exit. Darcy just shook her friend off and made her way down the hall. About four cells away from Bucky's, Darcy saw a dim light on. Raising a brow, she walked over there and once she saw the person being held prisoner there, she gasped.

"I'm so sorry, Darcy! Jane wanted to tell you, I wanted to tell you but Coulson and Fury made us and the rest of the Avengers swear not to. I wanted to tell you, believe me I wanted to, but they made us swear not to because there not sure what he's doing here or why he's here and we haven't been able to contact Thor or Asgard yet and… I'm so sorry… I should've told you."

Meanwhile, Loki smirked at Darcy superiorly, getting up from his bed and making his way to the front of the cell. If Darcy thought Bucky was tall, than Loki was a giant… which considering what Thor once told her wasn't a completely out there assumption.

"So," Loki drawled, smirking down at Darcy, "they finally let you see your savior, hm?"

Darcy could only stare at him in open mouth shock, eyes raking over him. One phrase kept running through her head, _Loki saved me… Loki saved me…_ Loki _saved_ me _…_

The God of Lies raised a brow, amused by her reaction. "What? No words of thanks for your hero?"

It was like a cold, hard slap to the face; curtsey of reality. The look of shock was washed away as Darcy just stared at Loki like he was some poisonous snake who could and would kill her if he saw fit. Darcy chuckled harshly, disbelieving coloring her otherwise unfeeling laugh as she glanced at the ground for a moment. Loki's smirk faded away and Wanda and Bucky exchanged confused looks.

 _Fuck this bullshit._ Finally, Darcy met Loki's eyes again. Her ever expressive blue eyes revealing that she gave absolutely _zero_ fucks about this whole situation.

"No," Darcy told him simply, shaking her head. "No, no, nope, no, no, no, nope, no, no, no, no, no…" Darcy began to walk away, shaking her head and smiling disbelieving as she pushed past Wanda and headed to the door. "No, nope, nope, nope, no, no, nope!"

As she exited the prison, Loki stared at her in confusion. He wasn't sure _what_ that was, but it certainly wasn't the reaction he had been expecting. Meanwhile, Bucky looked just as equally confused if not a bit amused by what Darcy just did. Wanda, however, she just stared after her friend.

After a minute or so passed in silence, Wanda remembered where she was and who she was left with. As her eyes widened, Wanda could've sworn she heard the old, cliché cricket chirping in the background. Glancing around slowly, the witch glanced at Loki, who looked rather unimpressed by her existence, and then Bucky, who looked a bit concerned about what just happened. Wanda slowly turned around again and rocked back and forth on her heels uncertainly, lips pressed in a tight line.

Finally, she sighed slowly. She glanced at both prisoners nervously before blurting out, "be seeing you, boys." And running after Darcy.

Even if by some odd string of circumstance, she was the one who ended up with super speed and not Pietro, Wanda still would've thought she didn't get out of there fast enough.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 **Man, got this up quickly. Within a week of the last one, I'm doing good. On that note, I** _ **may**_ **or** _ **may not**_ **be able to update for a while. I've got my school's fall play coming up in a couple weeks and then Thanksgiving after that. I'll try and get the next chapter up soon, but things are about to get hectic for me so I make no promises.**

 **On the plus side, Loki and Darcy finally met… Yay!**

 **Review and I'll see you guy's next chapter.**


	11. 10: He didn't save me

**I am back! The play was awesome, we all did fantastic… Even though my friend Jarett and I caught the flu and my friend Ashlee now has a neck brace (I had a very interesting show weekend). But hey, I'm back! Also, hope you guys (who celebrate it) had a happy thanksgiving and a safe Black Friday.**

 **Also, I bring cameos of the Asgardian kind. If any of you remember the trailer fic I published once upon a time, you know which one I'm talking about. Wink, wink.**

 **Plus, loving the reviews guys! They** _ **literally**_ **make my day. On the topic of reviews, I got a couple of guest reviews and someone I'd like to respond to since I didn't realize they had their PM option turned off. Anyway,**

 _ **Silmaril666**_ **: Sorry it took me this long to respond! I usually do it after I upload a new chapter and therefore didn't know beforehand that you had your PM option turned off. I've gotten the whole 'I waited until after the Age of Ultron' thing before so I can understand why you waited. I'm glad that you like the story direction I'm taking. Again, sorry I didn't reply sooner and thanks for the review.**

 _ **Jane Malfoy24**_ **: I love Jane/Thor too! Like, Top 5 Marvel ships, they're in it. What's the ship name though? Thanks for the review!**

 _ **Cocoa4Christmas**_ **: I'm glad that you like the fanfic and I'm happy you can relate to Darcy. I honestly thought her doing that whole "No, no nope" thing would just be funny, I didn't perceive it as relatable until** _ **after**_ **I wrote it. Wanda was both looking out for her friend but also (reluctantly) following orders, and Bucky was just being a confused bean at the moment so… I thought it'd be kind of cute and funny, too. I'm glad that you like the story, thanks for the review, and I hope this was fast enough.**

 _ **Guest**_ **: I'm glad that you like the story. And I figured you guys would like Darcy's reaction to Loki. And here's the next chapter!**

 _ **Gallifreya:**_ **I'm happy that you liked the chapter and I hope this was quick enough of an update for you.**

 **Ok, so I have a question to ask you guys at the end of this chapter, so just keep that in mind.**

 **Disclaimer: Hang on, let me check *looks at birth certificate* Darn. Unfortunately, I am not Stan Lee or Walt Disney… so I own nothing but OC's! Also, Comic-related Easter Eggs for those who can spot them. BONUS:** _ **Jack's Lament**_ **belongs to Tim Burton.**

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

The older figure sat in his chair, facing the back wall as the younger one paced back and forth anxiously, a displeased scowl on their face. Finally, the younger figure stopped and whirled on the older figure.

"She's alive."

"I've notice." The older figure deadpanned.

"'The serum will work' you said. 'It has a fifty-seven percent accuracy rate' you said!" The younger figure sneered at the elder. "I should have known better than to trust the likes of you."

The older figure stood suddenly and narrowed his eyes at his young cohort. "I'd watch what you say if I were you."

"You said that Mr. Barnes would be unstoppable!" The younger shouted, frustration clear in their voice before they exhaled. "You said that it would be an easy job."

The older figure frowned, "We didn't exactly take in the fact that there were _two_ Gods out there."

"She's still alive! She's supposed to be dead, Darcy Lewis is supposed to be dead!" The younger figure gestured wildly with their arms. "She's supposed to be a martyr, someone the Avengers will fight for. She's supposed to be dead so HYDRA can take the fall for us!"

"You know as well as I do that HYDRA, while plentiful in numbers, have not yet had a chance to recuperate after the beating they took in Sokovia." The older figure sighed heavily. "There's no way they could've been responsible for that attack, even if it was a set-up."

"Now what're we going do to? Phase 2 still has one more stage to go through, which we can't exactly complete now!"

"The plan will continue on schedule. Phase 2 will complete itself in time, and then we can finally move onto Phase 3."

The younger figure raised a brow, their mouth twisted in doubt. "While it would be a pleasure to complete Phase 2 after nearly three years, how do you expect to do that?"

"Mr. Barnes was captured, and thanks to my ingenious serum—" The younger figured snorted at this "—he remembers nothing about us injecting him with the serum, who we are and whom we're affiliated with, and more importantly where we are." The older figure smirked dangerously at his cohort. "They will not believe his story due to lack of details and since his last known affiliation was HYDRA, guess who will take the fall?"

The younger figure shifted uncertainly from one foot to another, "Alright, you have a point," they admitted begrudgingly, "but we still have a few 'details' to take care of."

"Such as?"

"True, everyone will think HYDRA was responsible for the attack, but how will we move on with Phase 2 when the Avengers won't be focused on something else?"

"Simple. We hide in plain sight."

"Come again?"

"Hide in plain sight. Since the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D are growing, they need more than one weapons benefactor."

"You? You applied to be one of the Avenger's new weapons' benefactor?"

"Well, my company applied."

"That is the dumbest idea I have ever heard, which is saying a lot. Considering I've worked with you for nearly seven years."

"Ignoring that for the moment… If we get the job, we'll be able to work on Phase 3 and the Avengers won't notice. Why? We'll be hiding in plain sight. Not to mention, with access to their computers, we'll complete our work much more quickly."

"HYDRA did that already. They lost,"

"HYDRA became too big for even themselves to handle. We're just two people… well, _three_ people."

"Three people?"

"I'm calling in someone. We won't be able to do everything by ourselves. We cannot stray too far for too long of a time, we'll need help."

"Who do you have in mind?" The older figure pulled a manila folder out of his coat and handed it to his comrade. Glancing through it quickly, the younger figure scoffed. "Him? That pathetic mistake, he's who your bringing in?"

"Considering your relationship to Young Hix, I'd watch what you say."

"That son of a bitch is a pimple on society's ass who has never accomplished anything in his life! There's got to be someone better,"

"Oh no doubt that there is, but Young Hix is the one that they won't suspect. Not to mention, he's willing to do it. Almost desperate to do it, actually."

The younger figured frowned, not liking the idea of having to tolerate working with Young Hix so closely, but having no choice but to tolerate it. For now, anyway.

"There's still one thing that bugs me though,"

"Which would be…?"

The younger figure pursed their lips, glancing at the notes on the older figure's desk. "We need to have Project C-01 finished before the end of summer. Madame Sarkissian is a very demanding woman."

"We will finish it in time. The Pym Particle is a mere science project, while Project C-01 is the next advancement in War Armory."

"What about the other God? Um, Loki, I think is his name?"

The older figure guffawed bitterly. "Him? He will be of no hindrance to us. The Avengers know who he is and are not going to give him any more than an inch in any one direction. He won't be an issue."

The older figure turned on heel and left his office. Pulling out a tablet, the younger figure typed in a simple passcode. Once in, the younger figured opened file footage of the Winter Soldier attacking Darcy Lewis in the alley, only to be stopped by the Undead God of Mischief, Loki. The younger figure's face twisted into something between a frown and a snarl. "'Won't be an issue'… Like hell."

The younger figure knew that they'd have to come up with a plan to make sure they didn't have another 'Godly' intervention. But what? Glancing at the footage of Loki saving Darcy Lewis, the younger figure hummed thoughtfully.

Perhaps Darcy Lewis had more value in her than a would-be-martyr…

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Jane and Ian tried to focus on the news, but they kept glancing at the clock. Three-seventeen PM. Jane flexed her fingers before tapping them nervously against her bottle of Pepsi. "How long have they been in the meeting?"

"Two hours," Ian informed her.

"They're going to be ok, right? I mean, they didn't do anything horrible."

"Yeah, Darcy just convinced Wanda to sneak into a secure prison holding two of the most dangerous men any of us have ever known."

"Well, you can't blame Darcy for being curious." Jane told the boy. "You have to admit that 'National Guard' story sounded fishy from the get-go."

"Yeah, I suppose… Still, it's their own fault."

"We could've come clean from the start, we all could've." Jane's eyes widened in sudden realization. "Oh geez, she's going to be so pissed at the Avengers. After that whole Ultron mess, none of them like the others keeping secrets."

Ian patted Jane's shoulder reassuringly. "It's Darcy, she can't stay mad at them forever."

Jane raised a brow, "You've been dating her for how long exactly?"

The front door was thrown open with a loud 'bang' and Darcy stormed in, looking tired and downright furious, with Steve, Natasha, and Rhodey trailing after her.

"Darcy, just listen to us for a second!" Steve begged.

"No!"

"What choice did we have? You know what Loki did!" Natasha pointed out

"I'm not listening!"

"We wanted to tell you, but we also wanted to keep you safe!" Rhodey said.

"Still pissed!" Darcy fixed the three with a glare before slamming her bedroom window shut. The three heroes deflated slightly before Natasha knocked lightly on her friend's bedroom door. "Darcy, honey, we're sorry. Can we talk?"

The only response the assassin got was the sound of a door locking. Natasha sighed and motioned for the boys to head out to the living room. "Let's give her some space to calm down," she whispered.

"So… How'd it go?" Ian asked.

"Nick, Phil, and Maria were… less than pleased with how Darcy and Wanda conducted themselves yesterday." Steve winced slightly. "They're on two weeks probation…"

"Where is Wanda, anyway?" Jane asked, a bit concerned for her new friend.

Rhodey sighed "After the meeting, we all kind of led them to the training room to try and talk things out. Darcy blew up and Wanda more or less sided with her."

"Things were said and Wanda just left. Sam and Vizh followed her but we haven't heard back from them and, well, you saw how things went with Darcy." Natasha frowned apologetically at Jane as the scientist slouched in her seat slightly.

"Ok… Ian, Erik, and I will _try_ to talk to the girls when they're ready, but you have to admit they have a point." Jane fixed the three Avengers with a hard stare. "Yeah, Loki did some pretty bad things but Thor told you what he did for us on Svartalfheim, right?"

"Yes," Steve said begrudgingly, like a child admitting they were wrong about something.

"He could've left me to die but he didn't. Look, I'm not saying he's a good guy, far from it actually, but there might be some sliver of something akin to goodness buried somewhere deep, deep, deep inside that twisted head of his."

"That still doesn't explain why he saved Darcy from… You-know-who…" Rhodey trailed off, nervously glancing at Steve.

The Super-Soldier rolled his eyes, a bit aggravated. "You can say his name, it doesn't bother me."

Natasha laid a comforting hand on Steve's shoulder and turned to face Jane and Ian. "Nonetheless, we have a situation on our hands. Loki's here and he saved Darcy. God knows why he did it, but he did. Not to mention Thor or Asgard or anyone hasn't shown up to collect him. So, what do we do?"

"We have made strides with our very own Einstein-Rosen Bridge," Ian interjected, "but unless we get a major power source we will be unable to get a quick message to Asgard and we'll have to resort to Plan B."

"What's Plan B?" Steve asked

"One of us stands on top of the last known Bifrost sight and we shout up to Heimdall and hope he hears us." Jane informed him.

Natasha bit her lip in thought for a second before smiling awkwardly at Jane, "Maybe Tony has a strong enough power source?"

"We could give him a call." Ian suggested.

"And we can help in any way we can," Rhodey offered, gesturing to himself, Steve, and Natasha.

"Ok, let's head down to my lab." Jane shrugged.

"I'll call Tony, see if he's got anything." Steve said, pulling out the iPhone the Iron Man had given him a few years ago.

As she gathered up a few notebooks, Jane glanced at the hallway heading toward Darcy's (and now technically Ian's) bedroom. The woman frowned before heading down the hallway, gesturing to Ian and Rhodey to wait a moment. Once outside the locked door, Jane knocked lightly, "Darcy, sweetie, it's just me. Um, we're going to go try to contact Asgard, want to come and help?"

Jane pressed her ear lightly to the door. _'But who here would ever understand, that the Pumpkin King with the skeleton grin, would tire of his crown, if they only understood. He'd give it all up if he only could…'_ The scientist cringed. Apparently, she underestimated how hurt Darcy was by the actions of herself, Ian, and the other Avengers. The girl only listened to _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ album when she was really upset with something or someone.

Knowing now that she wouldn't get any response from Darcy for a while longer, Jane sighed. "Ian and I ordered pizza for lunch, there's leftovers in the fridge. Ham and mushrooms with extra cheese, your favorite…"

' _Oh, there's an empty place in my bones that calls out for something unknown. The fame and praise come year after year, does nothing for these empty tears…'_ Danny Elfman's voice, though muffled by the door, was all Jane had received in response.

Though saddened by her friend's behavior, and admittedly a bit disappointed by it as well, Jane slowly followed after Ian and the three Avengers, knowing Darcy would come out when she was ready to talk or when her hunger became too great to ignore.

Whichever came first, Jane supposed.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Loki sat crossed-legged in his cell, hands folded atop his knees and an irritated scowl on his face.

 _Pathetic,_ he screamed at himself, _weak, sentimental-fool._

For, truly, what else was he? A Pathetic, weak, sentimental-fool. Why else would he have done what he did?

Loki knew he shouldn't have given himself away. He had escaped to Midgard and was hidden from Heimdall's gaze. But, instead, he just had to save that one girl with the bright blue eyes. That one girl with bright, expressive, inquisitive, puzzling, befuddling blue eyes.

Giving up on any thoughts of attempting meditation, Loki slowly rose to his feet and paced the area of his cell. Though much of an improvement to the last cell he had been in, the God of Lies knew, if not for the adamantium barrier along the walls, he might have been able to go somewhere in a means to escape.

Escape the cell, escape S.H.I.E.L.D, escape the Avengers, escape Asgard, and escape the hauntingly bright blue eyes, if not just for a little while.

 _Pathetic, weak, sentimental-fool_ , he hissed at himself again.

Yet, here were the facts; Loki had sacrificed his own security and safety to save Darcy Lewis when she was nothing but the dirt underneath his boots and, though he deemed it as one of the biggest mistakes of his long-lived life, seeing Darcy Lewis down here, alive and blue eyes as haunting as ever, eased a sense of worry he did not know was in him until he saw her.

Thinking back to her and the Witch's visit, he frowned. Darcy Lewis's reaction to him was a bit unexpected. True, he had expected her to be surprised, after all, the one who tried to conquer her planet and enslave her race had saved her life. But, after the surprise would eventually ware off, he expected her to get angry, to start screaming at him, to shout that he was a freak, monster, names that her limited, yet surprisingly colorful, vocabulary could muster up.

Instead, she seemed uncaring that he was there. Repeatedly stating negative renouncements as she walked out of the prison, leaving her wary, if not slightly confused, friend behind.

Shaking his head, the God slowed his pacing. If he had discovered one thing about Darcy Lewis during his… observations was that she was an enigma. Trying to understand her, no matter how Loki thought it would be a benefit, would only end in mass confusion for everyone involved.

Glancing through the glass barrier once again, Loki caught a glimpse of the only other man down here. The Winter Soldier, he was called, lounging on his bed, staring at the ceiling of his own cell in deep thought.

An old friend of the Captain's and another man out of time, only the Winter Soldier had a bit of a… _rocky_ trip here. From what he was able to learn of him was some group called HYDRA, a common foe of the Avengers, had corrupted his mind and used him as their personal hitman. Recently, from what Loki understood, he was starting to come back to his former sense of self.

That's one of the few things that nagged at Loki.

If the Winter Soldier was starting to come back to himself, his own personal sense of right and wrong, and had apparently cut all ties of HYDRA then why would he attack Darcy Lewis, an otherwise innocent civilian in the grand scheme of things for HYDRA?

That led to another question, why would anyone attack Darcy Lewis? The most she had ever done was assist in the creation (and later defeat) of Ultron and assisted in the Vision's birth, only to be reduced to the Avenger's Assistant. What would a powerful, if not ever changing, group such as HYDRA gain from her death?

Loki, being the God of Tricks and Mischief and Lies, knew when there was something menacing afoot. The fact that there were too many questions and not enough answers was just proof that there was something bigger at play here, what it was exactly was (currently) unknown to the God.

Sighing, Loki resigned himself to the bed he was given. Between the underlying plot that someone was slowly unfolding and the enigma known as Darcy Lewis, he found himself a bit exhausted.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Wanda sat in the library at HQ, scientists and interns of all kinds were pacing around, looking for tomes that would assist them in their experiments. She, on the other hand, was stretched out on a comfy couch in the center, Ayn Rand's _Anthem_ in hand.

"Hey," The Witch glanced up from her book and offered Darcy a small smile. It had been a few hours since there meeting with Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, and Maria Hill had taken place. Neither felt like talking to any of the other Avengers quite yet.

"Hey to you too," Darcy shifted Wanda's legs so she could sit down next to her on the couch. "I saw Jane and Steve come in here early looking for some science-y looking books. You weren't there so I'm taking it the talk went well after I left?"

"I'd rather not talk about it just yet," Darcy cringed, "They meant well, I get that, but I still feel lied too. How're you liking the book?" Darcy nodded toward the novella in Wanda's hands, desperate for a change of topic."

"It's ok, I guess. A bit confusing, though."

"Yeah, the whole 'No-singular-pronouns' thing is a bit confusing at first, but once you get past it you'll be fine. It's actually one of my favorite books."

"The idea of society just willingly giving up their individuality is just crazy. There's no way we would ever do that, right?"

"That is what's so great about books," Darcy sent the Witch a wry smile, "most of the time, they're fiction."

"Either way, I haven't been able to get past chapter three." Wanda set the book down.

"Too confusing?"

"Too much on my mind. You know I wanted to tell you, right?" Darcy's brow furrowed in annoyance before she exhaled.

"I know, Wans. And you've apologized, like, hundreds of times this morning so…" Both girls leaned back, relishing in the quite of the library and the light form the setting sun streaming in through the back windows. "I get why you guys lied to me, it's just… After Ultron, well... We already had too many secrets between all of us."

"I get that, we all did. But, what else could we do?" Wanda glanced at Darcy. "They all wanted to tell you too, they're just better at following orders."

Darcy chuckled a bit. "Preaching to the choir here, sister."

Both girls laugh a bit at that. After a few moments of silence, Wanda's brow furrowed in thought. "Why do you think he did it?"

"Who did wat now?"

"Why do you think Loki saved you?"

"He didn't save me."

Wanda blinked, confused. "Uh… what?"

"Loki didn't save me."

"Ok… Did Bucky hit your head harder than we thought or something because…?"

"What'd you mean?"

"Darcy, while I get that your mind isn't always the most… _sensible_ of things—"

"Hey!"

"—but I think you're confusing yourself… You know that whole 'National Guardsmen' story was fake, right?"

"Yeah, I know it was fake." Darcy nodded, awkwardly avoiding Wanda's eyes. "It's just, Loki didn't save me."

Wanda stared at Darcy, concerned. "Ok, I think I better take you to the infirmary. You must've hit your head on something."

Before Darcy could protest, Wanda had grabbed ahold of her friend's arm (and tucked _Anthem_ under her free arm) and proceeded to drag her out of the library. Darcy tried to pry her arm free, but the Witch held fast.

They got to the hallway between the cafeteria and the main entrance before Darcy was able to pry her arm free, stating "I do not need medical help!" in a louder voice than necessary, but considering the only one present besides the two girls was a bored lookin security guard, Darcy didn't pay too much attention.

"What'd you mean you don't need medical help?"

"Loki didn't save me because that's not the kind of thing he does!"

Wanda frowned in confusion, "Wh-What'd you mean 'it's not the kind of thing he does'?"

"You know who he is Wans, you've seen the footage and read the files." Darcy sighed and made her way over to the windows near the main entrance. "He's Big-Bad Loki of Asgard… Younger, moodier, and broodier brother of Thor. The guy who sends Flaming-Robots-of-Death to small towns and tries to take over Earth with weird alien armies and stabs his brother in the back almost on a daily basis…"

Joining her friend by the windows, Wanda pursed her lips in thought. "Was that last bit figurative or literal?"

"Shit if I know anymore, Salem. What I do know is that someone like Loki wouldn't waste a single "godly breath" on some lowly assistant. Especially if that assistant just so happened to work for the group of heroes who kicked his ass three years back."

"Look, Darcy, I get where you're coming from… but you know what happened that day. For Christ' sakes, that's the reason we went down to the prison yesterday!" Darcy chuckled.

"You didn't have to come…"

"You can be very persuasive when you want to be, you know that right?" Both girls smiled a bit at that. "Nonetheless, you know what happened that day and… and actively denying it won't help anything."

There was a pause as both girls took in the forest surrounding HQ in the twilight, finally Darcy spoke up. "I know what happened that day, but I also know what Loki would typically do… I'm just not sure which one I believe yet, does that make sense?"

Wanda shook her head sympathetically, "Not really. But then again, we don't make much sense either, do we?"

Darcy smiled thankfully at her friend and pulled her into a sort-of one armed hug, which Wanda returned. The two friends were simply content to watch the twilight shift into night, until Wanda noticed something odd in the sky.

"Is there a tornado warning for tonight?" Following her friend's apprehensive gaze, Darcy smirked.

"You weren't there when Thor left, were you?"

"I was in the building but…" Darcy held up a hand.

"Trust me, you'll love this."

The two girls focused their attention back outside just as the odd-shaped cloud came to a sort of peak. Before their eyes, a bright beam of rainbow colored lights shot down from the sky onto the ground. It only lasted for a couple seconds, but Darcy could tell Wanda was amazed.

"'Holy shit' right?" Darcy laughed.

"No kidding…" Wanda smiled, still in awe over what she just witnessed. "Does this mean Thor's back?"

"I dunno," Darcy shrugged, eyeing the figure in the distance, "one thing's for sure, Earth must be a nice rest stop for Asgardians."

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Bucky glanced at the ceiling of his cell. He hated being locked up here, he always awoke thinking HYDRA would be there waiting for him, but knew that there wasn't really much he could do to argue his way out of here. There was one thought that eased his nerves, if not only slightly.

 _She believes me,_ he thought, _Darcy's believes me._

He smiled at the memory of their impromptu visit to his cell the other day. Though it ended on an odd note, Bucky still found reason to smile at it.

He thought about Wanda, who technically believed him but that was only because Darcy convinced her that he could be trusted.

 _Darcy_ , he smiled again. She believed him. She was the first to believe him. The one who he unwillingly and unconsciously attacked with intent to kill, she had seen past him and believed him.

Bucky thought about how she seemed brave enough to come down here, how brave she was for talking to him, how blue her eyes were and how curious they seemed as they bore into his own eyes and soul in their search for answers, he thought about how sweet she was when she said calling her and her friend 'dames' was sweet.

Darcy was a right, stand-up dame. She had guts and Bucky admired that.

 _She believes me, she believes me. At least one person here believe me…_ Bucky thought to himself again as the memory of bright blue eyes danced across his memory. _If nothing else, I have Darcy's belief in me…_

The sound of someone—well, more than one—entering the prison brought Bucky out of his revere. Sitting up on his bed, the former soviet-assassin spotted four or five heavily armed, and pretty big, guards move in a uniform pace past his cell. Remembering that there was only one other person in the prison besides him, Bucky's eyes widened significantly. _That guy can't be that dangerous… can he? Did HYDRA say anything about him?_ Bucky remembered waking up briefly and their being talk of an alien invasion just about everywhere he went. Who led the supposed invasion, what happened to them, and how did specifically was information kept from him at the time.

After leaving HYDRA and before his apparent recapture, he had learned a bit about what happened, but not much. _Wonder if that's the guy who did it…_

Bucky heard a lighter pair of footsteps following behind the guards. Turning to see who it was, Bucky frowned in confusion.

The person was a female with long, dark hair in a high ponytail. She was wearing a red tunic with silver armor plating laced across the front, there was a silver clothed skirt at the end and below that were skin tight black pants partially covered up by black leather boots. The woman glanced at him accidentally, the two stared at each other for a second before the woman nodded in acknowledgement and proceeded after the guards.

Remembering the way the other man in the prison dressed, and taking into account the fact that not only was this woman wearing armor, but carrying a shiny shield and sword made Bucky wonder if there was some sort of Renaissance Fair nearby.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"…which allowed our very own miniature-Bifrost to function, even if it was only for a second. So, what I'm thinking is that if maybe we collaborate with Tony and Stark Industries personally we can—Darcy, Wanda, are you two even listening me?"

The sudden sharpness of Jane's tone made Wanda jump and nearly drop the notebook she was scribbling ideas for the Neurological Recognizer in. "Yes, yes! I am… listening to every word you say." Even the witch would admit that sounded unconvincing.

"What did I just say then?"

"…Um… Something about space?"

Ian and Erik Selvig chuckled from a few tables down. Wanda sent them a glare and the two men wisely shut up. Jane let out a long-suffering sigh and turned in Darcy's general direction. "Darcy, do you have _anything_ to say at all?" After a moment of relative silence, Jane's brows furrowed. "Darcy? Darcy?"

A light snore rang through the room, making Wanda and Erik laugh fondly and Ian roll his eyes. Wanda turned to the astrophysicist, "You have to admit, that was a pretty obvious outcome?"

Jane ignored the Avenger, picking up a large tome she and Steve checked out of the library a few days ago and marching purposefully over to her sleeping friend. Once she was behind her, Jane shouted "Darcy!" and slammed the book down on the desk next to her friend. In response, Darcy jolted awake and shouted back "What do you people have against me sleeping?" whilst sleepily glaring at the other people in the lab.

Wanda turned to the men in the lab, smirking knowingly. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say this isn't the first time's she's done it."

"Nope!" Ian laughed  
"Far from it, actually…" Erik told her.

Darcy and Wanda, still not on decent speaking terms with the Avengers, _had_ went to training, but they left as soon they possibly could. Preferring, in the past two days, to spend their time working on the Neurological Recognizer or helping Jane with Earth's very own Bifrost.

Speaking of Bifrost, Odin and Thor had sent someone down from the Golden Palace in the sky to pick up Loki. Darcy, not being able to see who it was the other night, had asked Maria who it was, but a part of their "probation" was that certain information was withheld from them, unless it was cleared by someone. Darcy being the Avenger's assistant and Wanda being an Avenger herself, the probation made things interesting.

"Ok, I have no idea how long I've been asleep," Darcy yawned, "but I'm guessing Jane was blabbering on about the Rainbow Bridge-3000 and you," she pointed at Wanda, "have made some progress with the Neuro-thingy McRecognizer…?"

Wanda stared at her friend incredulously, "How the hell have you managed to keep this job?"

"My butt-load of charm and _spark-tacular_ personality…" Darcy replied sardonically.

"Well, you're right about Jane and the Bifrost-whatever-it's-called," Jane narrowed her eyes in frustration at the two young girls, but ignored the comment, "but as for the 'Neuro-thingy McRecognizer'," Darcy playfully stuck her tongue out at Wanda while Ian chuckled, "I've made _a little_ progress, anyway…"

"Define 'a little'." Erik asked.

Wanda held up her notebook, which contained recently drawn pictures of random anime-esque animals, hearts, and a cute little drawing of BMO from _Adventure Time_. "Why is science so hard?"

"It varies for different people, I hear." Coulson teased lightly from his spot in the doorway.

"Hey Coulson," Darcy smiled, "what brings ya here?"

"We had a visitor a few days ago. I'm sure you've heard?"

"We know it was Asgard. Who exactly from Asgard, well, some of us were left out of the loop." Darcy ignored Wanda's warning look.

Coulson sent Darcy a small glare, but a new voice spoke up before he could say anything. "You cannot blame the girl from being curious, Son of Coul. I have heard it is her prerogative,"

"No way, Sif!" The young brunette smiled at the sight of the Asgardian Goddess.

"It is very good to see you again, Lady Darcy. It has been far too long," Darcy stuck out her hand, expecting Sif to shake it, but apparently there one meeting four years ago made Sif count Darcy as a close companion. So, to Darcy's surprise, Sif pulled her into a quick hug. Doing the same with Erik and Jane (though Darcy noticed both women seemed a bit tense during their hugs).

Sif nodded politely at Ian. "You must be Ian Boothby. Thor has spoken much of your great interning skills."

"I'm not an intern anymore…" Ian grumbled childishly, Darcy smiled and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush.

Wanda stepped forward and held her hand out to Sif, "I'm Wanda Maximoff."

Sif shook her hand, Wanda winced at how strong she was. "Ah yes, the Scarlet Witch. Thor has spoken highly of you. A great friend and ally to have in battle."

Wanda smiled bashfully, "Well, I was on his side for one fight so…"

"Nonetheless, you have proven yourself."

Coulson cleared his throat, reminding everyone of his presence. "Getting to the point, Sif and I are here to deliver some important news. Sif, you wanna go ahead or…?"

The Warrior Goddess nodded to Coulson before stepping forward. "Have any of you heard of the Infinity Stones?"

"Considering one our closest friends has one implanted in his head, I'd say so, yeah." Ian said. Darcy nudged him slightly, sending him a look that told him to be polite.

"Once returning home, Thor immediately began in quest for knowledge of the Infinity Stones. Pouring over many a books in the Asgardian library—"

"I would pay _anything_ to see Thor read a book on purpose," Darcy whispered to Wanda.

"Likewise," The witch replied

"—to see if there was anything to be found. He and Heimdall have spent the past few weeks searching the entire Nine Realms for answers and they have found… _some_ of them."

" _Some_ of them?" Jane echoed questioningly.

"The two have discovered that out of six Infinity Stones, four have been previously found and used in many ways. The Tesseract and Aether were only two. After assuring the known four's locations were safe ones, Thor and Heimdall began to search for the remaining two and they have reason to believe that the last two Infinity Stones are here on Earth. Thor requests that S.H.I.E.L.D personally begin the hunt for the remaining Infinity Stones." Sif said.

"What makes Thor think they're here on Earth?" Ian asked.

"Heimdall, though he cannot see where the stones lie for sure, knows that they are on Midgard, er, Earth." Sif corrected herself.

"Ok…" Darcy uncrossed her legs and closed her eyes, trying to jog her memory of one of her last conversations with Thor. "Let me see if I got this right… So far, the ones we know about are the… Mind Gem, the Space Gem, the… Reality Gem, and the Power Gem right?"

"That is correct." Sif nodded.

"Ok, wait," Selvig interrupted, "I remember the Space, Mind, and Reality Gems pretty well, but what about the Power Gem?"

"We have knowledge that it rests safely in the hands of the Nova Corps, a peaceful people at the center of the Nova Empire." Sif explained.

"Can I just get like a _tour_ of space one day? Is that too much to ask?" Darcy asked, only half-joking. Jane rolled her eyes at her friend and Sif only smirked.

"Wait," Wanda spoke up. "Darcy mentioned four, what're the other two?"

"The Time and Soul Gems." Sif told her.

"Time and Soul…?" Wanda mumbled

"They contain just as much power, if not possibly more, than the previously known Infinity Stones." Sif told them.

"Ok. I get that the Infinity Stones are crazy powerful and can do a lot of damage if they fall into the wrong hands," Jane piped up, remembering when she had an Infinity Stone inside of her, "but why is it so important for _all_ Infinity Stones to be found? Wouldn't no one on Earth knowing be a good thing? Less people knowing, less chance of some crazy maniac trying to blow up the planet, I mean."

"Your idea is not completely false, Dr. Jane Foster, but I'm afraid we all face a more serious threat." Sif answered.

"Such as…?" Erik prompted.

Sif sighed heavily, her face becoming deathly serious. "We have reason to believe someone is planning to collect all the Infinity Stones and use them for his own purposes."

" _Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us. Once all these pieces are in position…"_

" _Triple Yahtzee?"_

" _More like 'Checkmate'."_

The memory of her last conversation with Thor as he was leaving ran through Darcy's mind, and she suddenly grew scared. She had witnessed firsthand what a single Infinity Stone was capable of. But six of them, all together at once and in the hands of some universal baddie? Darcy fought to keep her breathing normal as she turned to Sif, "Who _is_ trying to collect all the Infinity Stones?"

"Thor has yet to learn his true name, but learned he goes by the nickname _The Mad Titan_ …" The six humans stared at the Asgardian warrior, unsure of what to say. Finally, Darcy let out a low whistle. "Well, as if our lives couldn't get more hectic and fucked up then they already were."

Despite the tension, Wanda laughed.

Deciding now was the perfect time to switch topics, Sif cleared her throat. "Now, before I go any further, Lady Darcy, do you know why Loki saved you from the Winter Soldier?"

"He didn't save me."

Both Sif and Coulson seemed surprised and confused by Darcy's answer. Wanda rolled her eyes before replying "I opened that can of worms two days ago and I'm still getting flack about it. If I were you, I'd just nod your heads and let it slide."

"Denial?" Coulson questioned.

"Fake it til ya make it, Coulson." Darcy replied.

" _Anyway_ , the All-Father and Thor have taken into considerations Loki's past crimes and what he has been spending the past two years on in order to duel out an effective punishment."

"I say eight-hundred years in some deep, underground mind and then another eight hundred in solitude." Darcy chipped in.

"He saved your life," Ian remarked.

"I have plausible deniability!"

"Do you even know what plausible means?" Erik asked.

"If you don't mind my asking, what _was_ Loki doing for the past two years?" Jane asked.

"He was masquerading as Odin and ruling in his place while the true All-Father had fallen into the deepest Odin-sleep any of us had ever heard of." Sif replied.

"Two years in a coma?" Wanda asked, incredulous. "No offense to you or Asgard Sif, but being in a coma for two years and having your wayward son impersonate you sounds like the plot of a bad soap-opera."

"Like _Game of Thrones_ , only not as entertaining and with less incest." Darcy smirked at her little joke.

"I am afraid I don't understand that reference." Sif told them. "Still, Odin and Thor have taken this and Loki's past crimes into consideration for dealing out his punishment."

"What was the verdict?" Erik asked

"He was found guilty of all crimes but…" Sif frowned nervously

"'But' what?" Ian asked

"I, begrudgingly, admitted under oath to Odin that Loki's action as King of Asgard were not tyrannical but instead fairly wise and somewhat… decent."

Sif just, sort of, complimented Loki. Darcy quickly glanced outside to see if pigs were flying, satisfied that they were not, she tuned back into the conversation.

"What about Lorelei?" Coulson asked. "You and I both know what she is capable of. Wouldn't it have been easier to kill her?"

"Yes and no, Son of Coul. Lorelei is a liar and trickster, but she and her sister, Amora, have a strong bond. If we were to kill Lorelei, we would all have faced Amora's wrath."

"So, all I'm hearing from this is that Loki somewhat-kinda "redeemed" himself and now has less Asgardian-prison time going for him."

Sif cringed and stared at Darcy sympathetically, "Actually, Thor was able to convince the All-Father on a slightly less-severe punishment."

"Oh, I don't like where this is going…" Erik groaned slightly.

"It has been decided that Loki will be banished here to Midga—I mean, Earth, until he has proven himself truly "redeemed" in the eyes of Asgard."

"S.H.I. and the others Avengers have heard the terms and, although… _"hesitant"_ at first, seem to agree with the plan."

"I didn't agree to anything." Wanda reminded everyone sternly.

"What exactly are the "terms" of Loki's banishment?" Jane asked warily.

"Loki will be banished here to Earth. While the All-Father cannot remove his powers entirely he can and has weakened them. Loki can only use his magic if someone gives him permission too and he will be in service to the Avengers in any way they see fit. He will be, I am told, housed in a cell the Iron Man has constructed, watched twenty four hours a day."

"And if he breaks the rules of his little banishment?" Erik asks nervously.

"Permanent removal of his powers, stripped of his place on Asgard, and permanent banishment to Jötunheim."

Jane let out a low whistle. "You guys sure don't kid around when it comes to punishments."

"Verily," Sif agreed.

"Ok. So Loki's grounded to Earth for the foreseeable future and Wanda and the other Avengers will have to deal with him when the next baddie rolls into town. What's this have to do with the rest of us?"

Sif frowned again, though Darcy noticed it was more a mix of sympathy and slight regret than the last few frowns. "Well, after hearing what Loki has done for you, Lady Darcy—"

"He didn't do jack-shit for me!"

"Let it go, Darcy!" Jane informed her friend

"—Thor has personally requested that you be Loki's chaperone… of sorts…"

All the air in Darcy's lungs seemed to fly out of her body as she stared at the Asgardian Goddess in shock as Jane, Erik, Wanda, and Ian protested venomously.

"It has already been decided." Coulson told everyone firmly, holding his hands up in an attempt to silence them.

"Shouldn't we have had a say in this?" Jane asked.

"Or at least Darcy and I?" Wanda echoed.

"You can't be serious about this Coulson! Loki is criminally insane!" Erik protested

"She'll be in danger, she's helpless and defenseless against him if he tries something!" Ian added.

Darcy stood up suddenly, knocking her chair over in the process, silencing everyone. "First off; Ian, I have Electabuzz with me at all times. If my taser could knock-out the God of freaking Thunder, than I'm pretty sure my EMG and I can handle Loki." Darcy sent her boyfriend an icy glare. While he didn't look fully supportive of the idea, he wisely kept his mouth shut. "Second; Coulson, while I understand me and Wanda were on probation, don't you think a heads-up would've been the respectful thing to do in this situation?" Sighing slightly, Coulson nodded. "And finally; Sif, I know you and Thor and everyone else on Asgard has their reasons for doing what you do, don't you think someone with a little bit more training or something would be better for this job like Thor or the entire US Army?"

"Thor requested you personally. I trust his judgement, I always have." Sif told the young girl earnestly. Wanda raised a brow at the emotion in the Goddess' comment but said nothing.

Darcy glanced between Coulson and Sif and just about everyone in the room before making wild gestures with her hands and squeaking uncertainly.

"What about her schedule? Not only is she the Avenger's assistant—" Erik asked

"Babysitter," Darcy corrected automatically and without thought

"—she also assists Jane and me with the Bifrost project and now she and Wanda work on the Neurological Recognizer!"

Sif hummed, impressed with what Darcy was doing nowadays, as Coulson stepped up. "Everything has been worked out. Darcy will start on Monday,"

Noticing Darcy's uncertain expression, Sif quickly added "Only if she feels comfortable enough to accept this position." She then quietly added "Do not feel pressured into taking this position if you are not comfortable with it."

Darcy frowned and shook her head uncertainly, "I just don't know man…"

After a moment of thought, Wanda slowly raised her hand. "What if she had some help?"

Coulson eyed her questioningly. "You, Miss Maximoff?"

"Uh, yes. Why not?" Wanda shrugged. "I could help Jane and Erik when Darcy is too busy, she and I are already splitting up work on the Neurological Recognizer, and I used to help out at the Sokovian Orphanage whenever I could so I think that makes me qualified to be the Avengers Assistant. Also, if she really needs it, I could always help her with Loki as well…"

"And you'd be willing to do this?" Coulson asked.

Wanda nodded and smiled at Darcy. "Anything for a friend."

Darcy smiled in return, turning to Coulson purposefully. "I'll do it if Wanda can help me whenever I need her to."

Coulson thought about it for a moment before inhaling. "Alright, I'll make arrangements."

Darcy smiled. "Thanks Boss-man!"

"Well," Coulson smiled tightly, "I'm glad everything worked itself out. I'll go see about getting Miss Maximoff's schedule moved around. Sif, would you like an escort?"

"Before I go, Thor asked me to deliver a message to Dr. Jane Foster." Sif approached the scientist, Wanda and Darcy noticed her mouth drawn in a tight line as she did so, but made no comment on it. "Thor asked me to tell you that he thinks of you constantly and that once he has finished his work on Asgard, he wishes for nothing more than for you to come to Asgard with him."

Jane listened politely to the message Sif delivered, but once she was finished, Jane looked down and shook her head sadly. Darcy noticed many emotions flickering across Jane's eyes but couldn't decipher them in time before Jane glanced back up at Sif, smiling tightly.

"Well, you can tell Thor that I told him to take his time. I know his work means a lot to him…" Jane turned and walked back to the computer she had been working at before Coulson and Sif showed up. Leaving a slightly bewildered Sif and five shocked/surprise humans staring at her as if she had just grown a second head.

Of all the things they expected Jane to say in regard sto a message form Thor; _that_ was not what any of them expected.

"Uh, actually, I was wondering if I could ask her a few questions about the Bifrost." Erik looked at the Goddess, who smiled and nodded, remembering Coulson's earlier offer of an escort.

"Of course, ask anything."

"Walk and talk with me. So, I understand that a similar energy found in the Tesseract was used too…" After the two had left, Coulson nodded at the four remaining people one last time before heading out himself.

Turning and shutting down the computer she had been working at, Jane quickly gathered up her things. "Well, I am going to go have a _word_ with Steve and the others. The least they could've done was run this idea by us…"

"I'll come with you." Ian chimed in. Quickly giving Darcy a chaste peck on the cheeks, he grabbed his coat and followed after Jane. "I'll see you for dinner tonight, love!" he called back to Darcy.

The two friends stood silently in the now empty lab for a few minutes in silence before Wanda turned to Darcy and said "I think that Sif girl has a crush on Thor,"

Darcy snorted, "I could've told you that. What'd you do to find out, read her head?"

"Unintentionally, yes. I think Asgardians thoughts are the only thoughts louder than yours." Wanda teased.

"Ha, ha. Very funny. Ready to go?" Darcy asked, slinging her back over her shoulder.

"Mhmm," Wanda gathered up the notebook she had been scribbling in and the pencil she was using. As they were walking out of the lab, Wanda commented "So, chaperoning the God of Lies and Mischief… That sounds fun, kind of, right?"

Darcy turned to her friend and gave her a hard look. She knew Wanda was only trying to lighten the mood, but it still didn't make reality any more appealing. "Why didn't you talk me out of going down to the prison that day, or tried to drag me out of there before I could find out _he_ was down there?"

In response to that question, Wanda angrily flicked Darcy's forehead and muttered something that Darcy assumed was a Sokovian swear-word.

Good thing Steve wasn't around to hear it…

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 **And there was chapter ten. I will try and update again before Christmas. Now that I have more time I hope I can keep that promise. Also, be on the lookout for a one-shot I intend to publish this weekend.**

 **Also, I've been thinking about getting a Tumblr account but I am still uncertain. It would be a blog for this story and also my personal blog. If I got a Tumblr like that, would any of you be interested in following me? Just wondering.**

 **Ok, I'm interested to see what you guys think of this chapter, mainly because it was a bit hard for me to write. Reviews are like early Christmas presents to me!**


	12. 11: Games of Hunger

**Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Consider this a gift to all my loyal readers, thank you for following this story and making me feel as if I could actually go somewhere with writing. Seriously, this is my most popular story to date and I love you all for it, so thank you.**

 **Oh, and I'm on Tumblr now. I'm called** _ **After Ultron**_ **. Look me up.**

 **As you probably guessed from the title, I make some references to the Hunger Games in this chapter, as I plan to do throughout the story. Speaking of the Games, as anyone else seen Mockingjay: Part 2 yet? I saw it last month and loved every second of it (and cried during a majority of it to).**

 **Disclaimer: All rights reserved or whatever. I own nothing but OC's but we haven't seen much of those guys yet so…**

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Jane glanced over and saw Wanda was staring at the screen with hushed enthusiasm. The scientist could understand the young Avengers' excitement. She remembered quite well how Darcy managed to drag not only herself but Selvig, Ian, and even Thor into the movie theatre's to watch _Hunger Games: Catching Fire_. Jane and Ian, having read all three books, had been excited to go and see how well the movie portrayed the actual story, especially since the first movie did rather well. Selvig and Thor (though the former had read the first book, but had no time to read the others) had basically gone in blind.

Jane smiled wistfully as she remembered the time Darcy had to explain _The Hunger Games_ to Thor. The blonde behemoth had been slightly confused until Darcy went into more in-depth detail, and after that he all but begged Darcy to show him the first movie. The young brunette had once tried to convince Thor to read the books ( _"The movies do a pretty awesome job at following the books, but the books are like_ way _better!"_ ) but he had laughed the idea off good-naturedly.

When _Mockingjay: Part 1_ had come out, Darcy had somehow managed to drag every single Avenger, Maria Hill, Pepper Potts, Happy Hogun ,Selvig, Ian, and herself into going to go see it. Granted, Thor, Tony, and Clint had already made plans to go by themselves, it was still nice.

Though, nowadays, Jane had read and reread all the books at least fifteen times and (at Darcy's insistence) watched one of the movies just about every three months, she had seen and read the story so many times, Jane didn't doubt she could quote any scene from the movie if she wanted to.

" _Look at this, they're holding hands."_ President Snow said, glancing at the image of all twenty-four tributes/victors on his futuristic screen, before frowning at Plutarch Heavensbee. _"I want them dead."_

"He's just a sadistic little bastard, isn't he?' Wanda asked.

"Believe it or not, he's not the worst character in th entire series." Jane informed.

Wanda reached over and grabbed a handful of popcorn, stuffing it in her mouth. "'Or not,'"

Jane laughed and grabbed a handful of her own, just as Plutarch was explaining to President Snow on how and why everything would work out. The two woman fell into a companionable silence afterwards. Occasionally laughing at certain parts to the movie and gasping (though Jane did it more for Wanda's benefit) and stuffing their faces with popcorn. All and all, it was a good way to spend an evening.

Until they heard a shout of _"All I'm asking you to do is spend some time with me!"_

" _Believe it or not, it's hard to do when you spend twenty plus hours off_ gallivanting _with your little science project!"_

"Gallivanting? _Who the hell says 'Gallivanting' anymore?"_

" _Apparently I do!"_

" _You know the Neurological Recognizer is important to me and Wanda! Not to mention its Banner's last invention, it has sentimental—"_

" _Sentimental value, yeah. I've heard the story so many times!"_

" _At least I'm_ trying _to spend time with you instead of making half-assed excuses!"_

" _You're trying? Oh, yes, very clever. Just take on another job—hell, take on ten more of them, while you try to find time!"_

" _I told, you, working with Loki was my choice—"_

" _You'll be defenseless!"_

" _No I won't! Coulson explained it to me—"_

" _You'll be in close quarters with the man… God… Whatever he is who tried to destroy New York and enslave humanity!"_

" _I won't be alone, Wanda will come with me on the days she's not—"_

" _I seriously doubt some girl with a few magic tricks can hold up against Thor's younger brother."_

" _Don't insult her like that, she's my friend!"_

" _She worked for Ultron, how can you trust her?"_

" _My gut instincts are never wrong and my gut is telling me to trust her."_

" _Like how your gut is telling you to take this job with Loki?"_

" _I'll have Electabuzz with me—"_

" _There we go again. All I hear from you anymore is 'Electabuzz this' and 'Electabuzz that', it gets old after a while."_

" _Oh, like any of your Greenwich stories are worthy of_ TIME _magazine."_

" _At least I know when to shut up with my stories when I know I'm boring someone to death."_

" _Are you calling me boring?!"_

" _If the slipper fits, love!"_

" _You are a senseless, self-centered pig, you know that right?"_

" _I'm sorry that I'm too busy dealing with my senseless, self-absorbed bullshit to deal with yours!"_

" _Ugh! You never listen to me!"_

" _Well maybe if you had something worth listening too!"_

Jane and Wanda exchanged uneasy glances. Darcy accepted the job to supervise Loki in, around, and outside Avenger's HQ last week. Jane and Ian had both chewed at the Avengers for their secrecy and made them swear it wouldn't happen again.

Meanwhile, things between Ian and Darcy had not improved in the slightest. Ever since Darcy took the job, she and Ian have been fighting more than ever. Not the silent spat kind of arguing either. No, this was a full-out screaming match half and Jane and Wanda often felt caught in the middle. The two had made it a habit to retreat to the lab or go find one of the Avengers or Selvig until they thought it safe to come back.

Even the Avengers had taken notice to how Darcy seemed to be silently fuming during their training exercises, which she had taken to frequenting more often as of late, and how Ian often seemed rigid at lunch time.

Just about everyone within hearing distance was walking on eggshells around the couple. Afraid that the slightest word would set the two off like the Hydrogen Bomb.

Wanda reached over for the TV remote and paused the movie, turning to talk to Jane as she did. "Should we go somewhere else and finish this or…?"

Contemplating the idea for a second, Jane nodded briskly. "I'm sure Steve won't mind. He loves _The Hunger Games_."

Just as the two made to leave, Ian stormed past them, heading towards the door as he angrily shrugged on his jacket. "I don't have to take this from you!" he shouted back towards the bedroom he shared with Darcy.

" _Go on, get out! But if you get drunk or high or some other stupid shit, you better not come back here!"_

"Who made you the boss of me?"

" _It's my apartment, dickshit!"_

"Oh, believe me, I'm not coming back!" And with that, Ian angrily walked out of the apartment, slamming the door as he did so.

Jane and Wanda sat on the couch, stupefied, for a few moments in the silent apartment. Both women glancing between the front door and the hallway, unsure of what to do. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Wanda cautiously made her way down the hall to Darcy's room.

As she raised her fist to knock, the sounds of muffled sobbing and the beginning chords of _'This is Halloween'_ wafted through the door. The witch glanced questioningly at Jane and nodded towards the door, hand still raised.

The astrophysicist shook her head, rather aggressively, in the negative. Gesturing for Wanda to make her way back into the living room, Jane explained "Darcy just needs some time to calm down, trust me. I've seen stuff like this before, she'll be fine. The best we can do is just give her time to cool down, ok?" Wanda swallowed and nodded. "Tell you what, we'll finish the movie and then go check on Darcy. That sound like a plan?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan to me."

Jane smiled weakly at the witch and led her back to the couch. After resituating themselves on the couch, Wanda un-paused the movie. Try as they might though, neither Wanda nor Jane could get pulled back into the world of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark after what they just witnessed.

After watching the Jabberjays attack Katniss and Finnick, the two girls heard something peculiar. It sounded like a techno-remix of the _Doctor Who_ theme song. The two tried to ignore it at first, but it persisted until finally Jane asked "Where the hell is that coming from?"

Pausing the movie once again, the two began a search for the sound. Checking both their phones and finding nothing, they walked into the kitchen and found Darcy's phone (which had run out of battery power sometime around lunch) on the kitchen counter by the outlet the housemates used to charge their phones. Plugging in her phone, Wanda and Jane continued their search. Just when they were about to give up, Jane thought she heard something outside the apartment.

Opening the door and sticking her head out, she found Ian's android lying on the floor a few feet from the door. After the irritating song once again blared, the two woman shook their heads.

"Guess Ian dropped his phone on the way out." Wanda observed as Jane went to pick it up.

Inspecting it, Jane saw that (aside from the small dent on the side that had been there for the past year) there was nothing amiss. Reading the number, Jane frowned. "Who's Jessica?"

" _Hello?"_ A light, British voice came through the phone. _"Hello? Ian, is that you?"_

Surprised, Jane glanced down and found she accidentally pressed the 'Accept Call' button. Not wanting to be rude, the astrophysicist brought the phone to her ear.

"Um, hi. I'm sorry, Ian dropped his phone and I'm just picking it up… by accident."

" _Oh, well that's quite alright. Accidents happen. Might I ask who you are though?"_

"Dr. Jane Foster, Ian's boss."

" _You're Dr. Jane Foster?"_ The woman on the other end of the phone gushed. _"Miss, let me just say it's an honor to speak with you, even if it's by accident. I'm a huge fan of your work!"_

"Oh, well, thank you." Jane blushed slightly and Wanda raised a brow.

" _You're welcome… Um, now may I ask where Ian is?"_

"He, uh, went to go get the takeout." Wanda mouthed a 'what' and Jane shrugged helplessly.

" _Oh, well, do you know when he'll be back so I can talk to him?"_

"I… I'm not sure. I'm sorry. If you want I can take a message for you?"

" _Oh, that's awfully kind of you, but… uh… what I have to say to him isn't exactly rated G if you know what I mean."_ The woman giggled girlishly.

Jane's eyes widened in surprise. "Uh, rated G?"

" _Y'know… Very detailed. I'm sorry if I'm blabbering but it's just—"_

Jane regained her composure and she abruptly cut the woman off. "Just what? Who are you exactly and why are you calling my intern's phone with _those_ kind of messages?"

" _Um… I'm Jessica Pathers, and I call him because I'm over my minute and data limit on my phone and it's the only I can talk to him…"_

"What makes you think you can just call up random men like that?"

Jessica scoffed at the other end. _"Well, for starters, he's not a 'random man', I've known him since High School. And since I'm his girlfriend I feel I get the right to call him up whenever I want to!"_

Jane's mouth dropped open in shock and the world seemed to come to a screeching halt as her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

"What?" Wanda asked. "What is it?"

" _Hello? Dr. Foster? Are you still there?"_

"W-Wh-What did you just say a minute ago?" Jane questioned nervously.

" _Ian's not some 'random man'?"_

"No, after that."

" _I said I was Ian's girlfriend."_

"Jane, what is it?" Wanda asked, noting the astrophysicist's expression and starting to grow worried. "Who is it? Who's on the phone, what'd they say?"

Lowering the phone slightly, covering the bottom end with her hand, Jane stared at Wanda wide-eyed and whispered "We have a problem," urgently.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Loki gazed out the window of the vehicle distastefully. Avengers' HQ looked just as repugnant as the last time he had been there. Granted, two days isn't enough to change much of anything, still.

"…And meals will be brought to your cell three times a day. Do I make yourself clear?" Director Coulson droned on, sounding as bored as Loki felt.

The man Loki thought he had killed but didn't, had been explaining the finer points of his… _"Banishment"_ since they had shoved him the back of the vehicle, with two agents seated on either side of him. It all was rather mundane and Loki resented every second of it, yet he would never give Agent Coulson the satisfaction of letting him know that.

"Do I make myself clear?' Coulson repeated, a bit more tensely this time around, but he still sounded rather bored. Loki's eyes flicked to his for a moment before returning to gaze out the window.

Sighing, realizing this would be the best he would get out of the God, Coulson pulled out his phone to check the time. Seeing how it was three minutes to eleven and Darcy still wasn't there, he was debating whether or not he should text or call to remind her when and where she was supposed to be.

Of course, speak of the devil and he shall appear.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. It took security fifteen minutes to make sure I wasn't pulling another stunt like last week's." Darcy Lewis slid into the seat beside Coulson, a violet notebook, pencil, and her precious iPhone and headphones in hand.

"They had reason to doubt, I'm sure." Coulson said, knocking his fist against the glass separating himself, Darcy, Loki, and the two guards sitting next to him. "Let's move out."

As the vehicle pulled out, Darcy glanced at Loki curiously. This was the first time they seen her as the prison incident. He looked tired… and bored. Mostly bored, though. She studied the man… god… whatever the hell he was as he gazed out the window. Any untrained or uncaring agent would take one look at him and see someone who couldn't give any more of a fuck. Yet, Darcy noticed something else.

It was the way his body seemed to tense for someone who supposedly didn't care, how his hands were balled up in fists, how he ever so occasionally (not enough to raise suspicion, mind you) would slightly pull at the adamantium cuffs, and how narrowed his eyes became when he spotted so much as a tree as he watched the passing scenery.

Deciding to throw caution to the wind, Darcy stuck out her hand and plastered on the biggest (read: forced) she could muster. "Hi, I'm Darcy. I don't think we've officially met."

Darcy's smile was starting to fade at the intensity behind Loki's uncaring stare-slash-raised brow of skepticalness. She slowly pulled her hand back and awkwardly glanced away. "Well, that happened…"

"Why are you here, Darcy Lewis?"

"What the?" The girl gave him a surprised look. "You know my name, how the hell do you know my name? I've literally spoken one _sentence_ to you since we've met."

Coulson raised a brow at the girl sitting next to him. He had seen footage of Darcy and Loki's first… "Meeting". He wouldn't call Darcy's reaction a sentence… or basic grammar, for that matter.

Loki only met her surprised look with a slight glare.

"Well, if you must know, Abra Kadabra," Loki raised a brow as the guard to his left snorted, "I'm here because I'm your new… _supervisor_. I dunno, personally I couldn't give two shits about you if I tried. Coulson's just here to see me out on my first day, kinda like a weird, trial-by-fire seminar kind of thing."

"After today, Miss Lewis will be accompanying you on all trips in and outside of HQ." Coulson added, sending the former God a reproaching glare. "I recommend treating her with respect."

"Or just ignoring me entirely. Whatever floats your boat, I guess."

Loki glanced at the blue-eyed girl one more time before glancing out the window again. _If it were only that simple,_ he thought.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

About twenty-two minutes into their ride, a majority of which Coulson had stared at the ceiling and Darcy scribbled in that notebook of hers, random music (if it could be called that) would occasionally blare from her headphones. Loki hid his frown easily at the display. Only glancing at the two mortals every once in a great while out of his peripheral vision.

 _Pathetic,_ he thought _, both of them._

After a while, he noticed that (saved Darcy's constant scribbling) that it was rather quiet. Whatever music the girl had been playing, had apparently ceased. Casting his gaze back out the window again, he thought the ride would continue in silence. How wrong he was.

It started, simply enough. Darcy began tapping the end of her writing utensil against her notebook in thought. After a while, she grabbed her iPhone and tapped it a couple times until she appeared satisfied of something and slid it back into her pocket.

It was only a moment later when the girl started humming. Quietly, mind you, but it irked Loki nonetheless. The Prince of Lies tried his best to tune her out, but to no avail it seemed.

The beat was simple, more than likely another Midgardian folk song that seemed to follow a one-two-one-two style beat. Easy to pick-up, easy to remember. From the way she hummed the song with ease, Loki could only assume the notes were simple as well.

Darcy repeated the tune three times over. On her fourth time, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Coulson glance at her and then back at the roof of the vehicle. Just as she reached the end of the tune, Coulson surprised them both by quietly singing _"If we met at midnight in The Hanging Tree."_

The smile that graced Darcy's face was one of the brightest things he had ever seen, even if he wasn't staring directly at it.

"Shut up, you watch _The Hunger Games_?"

"And read." Coulson added.

"I never took you as the kind of guy who would read that kind of stuff." Darcy admitted, closing her notebook and quickly yanking her headphones off. "I always figured you read Steinbeck or Orwell or some other old dude."

"I read their works as well, but I have recently gotten into Collins's work."

Darcy chuckled slightly. "Phil Coulson, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, is a fan of _The Hunger Games_. It's official, nothing makes sense anymore."

Loki sat there, quietly forgotten, as he listened to the two mortals in front of him discuss the Games of Hunger. He would be lying to even himself if he said he wasn't curious.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"Adamantium. That Klaue guy wasn't the only black market dealer out there." Coulson informed Darcy as she and he observed Loki from atop a platform.

"Klaue was into Vibranium, though." Darcy pointed out.

S.H.I.E.L.D had discovered an incredibly large dosage of adamantium just outside of New York and wanted to investigate. Apparently, there was something in the metal alloy that blocked certain ray of gamma radiation (and any other radiation) and made it nearly indestructible. "Vibranium isn't the only metal or alloy out there that can be used for… other purposes."

Darcy glanced down from the platform to the God. His job was to use his magic to move the metal alloy from the specialized bins in the factory into to specialized containers S.H.I.E.L.D had provided. The way the alloy was produced (man-made, and all) made it dangerous for men to gather itself. Loki, the man-god whom every hated or strongly disliked was the perfect candidate to do the job. Why risk thirty, hard-working S.H.I.E.L.D agents when you have the guy who blew up New York forced to be at your beck and call?

True, she held no fond feelings for Loki (and she was still actively denying his part in Bucky's attack on New York), but as she watched him; she noticed how a sweat broke out across his forehead after he lifted a large amount of adamantium, how his arms trembled slightly when he was forced to exert himself in the magic department, and how he eyed the thin, blue bracelets around his wrists distastefully.

Darcy remembered what the S.H.I.E.L.D agent who had put them on him. _"There laced with adamantium."_ He had said. _"They have a property that blocks certain 'magical' outburst. This'll make it so he doesn't get any funny ideas."_

She wasn't sure if he saw or not, but Darcy had glanced up at Loki's face to find him frowning. There was something in his dark, kind of mysterious, green eyes that told Darcy that 'funny ideas' were the farthest thing from Loki's mind.

But it was gone within a flash and replaced for the general distaste for humanity Loki was known for.

Still, Darcy found it kind of ironic that the God was harvesting the material to create his own shackles. She twisted her mouth into a bitter frown as a low buzzing noise was heard.

Coulson, without skipping a beat, pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket. "Yeah?... Uh-huh… Uh-huh… Ok, I'll be there shortly." Ending the call and stuffing his phone in his pocket, the Director turned to Darcy. "You ok with riding back with him alone?"

"I guess so." Darcy shrugged noncommittedly. "Why? What up?"

"James Barnes is willing to speak to someone in charge about something he just remembered. Something before the New York Incident, I assume."

The _New York Incident_. That's what everyone had taken to calling it. Darcy glanced at her hands and frowned. It would've been an ok name for it if she hadn't been a part of it, she supposed. One of those things that many just shrug at and say 'What can you do?'

"When you say 'remembered' you mean…?"

"I know as much as you do at the time, Miss Lewis." Coulson told her before making to leave.

Glancing down at Loki, and remembering the _New York Incident_ with as much clarity as she could, Darcy turned around. "Coulson,"

"Yes?"

"Just… Just go easy on him ok?"

The Director raised a brow. "Why the sudden concern, Miss Lewis?"

"It's just… I mean, ugh. Look, I know Bucky doesn't have a squeaky clean slate like Iced Cappuccino," Coulson looked torn between glaring and snorting at her nickname for Steve, but said nothing, "but he's just a scared, confused man. He's innocent."

"Innocent? You really think he's innocent?"

"Of _this_ crime. Of this crime, anyway." Darcy added. "Maybe even the old ones, cause I'm getting the feeling he was brainwashed or something."

Coulson sent her a hard glare. "Just focus on Loki, Miss Lewis." As he left, he called over his shoulder. "Bucky's not your concern, let us handle it."

A bit miffed, Darcy begrudgingly turned back to watch Loki finish up harvesting the adamantium. _It's not like I can't go in and see him again…_ Darcy thought. Her new chaperoning job had granted her access to Level 7 Security Access. No more convincing Wanda to sneak her in to places if she wanted to go somewhere. Nope, Darcy could go in there all by herself.

 _I might just do that…_ Darcy thought to herself.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Darcy Lewis had once again pulled out her headphones. Instead of scribbling in her notebook, she instead listened to her music and glanced out the window. Occasionally bobbing her head to whatever music she had been listening to.

Eventually, she started humming the same tune from earlier. Remembering her and Coulson's conversation, curiosity began to overwhelm Loki until he asked: "What are the Games of Hunger?"

Glancing at him briefly, before tapping her iPhone quickly, she removed her headphones from her ears. "Huh?"

"I said; what are the Games of Hunger?"

Ha!" Darcy looked somewhat amused and surprised before turning back to her beloved portable. "Nope,"

"Are we really starting that again?"

"I'm not answering _either_ question."

"Oh?" He was a bit intrigued. "And why not?"

"Because you're you."

"I don't see how that—"

"You are Loki of Asgard, Jötunheim, or wherever. You're the younger, adopted, brother of Thor. You never got enough attention from Papa Odin, you felt ugly, underappreciated, used, and lied to when you found out you're adopted—which I can sorta understand—and to compensate for all of that shit, you go and send flame-y robots of death to kill off your brother, you try and take-over Earth with an alien army that was probably rejected from some Will Smith movie, and you impersonated Odin for _two fucking years_. You're entire life has been one bad mashup of _Game of Thrones_ and _The Last Kingdom_ and somehow you being a psychotic sociopath during the majority of this has somehow put you here." As the girl leaned back in her seat, giving the somewhat shocked (and admittedly confused) Loki a chance to let her words sink in, the God noticed how uninterested she seemed during her rant. "You're you, and that's that."

Not letting his shock (or confusion) show on his face or in his voice, Loki spoke. "I don't see how all that gives you a justifiable excuse to explain the Games of Hunger to me."

Darcy smirked as she glanced up at him. "A: Because I know what it's about and I don't want to give you any ideas on how to torture anyone for your next grand scheme, and B: It's called _Hunger Games_ not Games of Hunger. Call it that one more time, and I will taze your ass and listen to Taylor Swift as you drool on your cell floor because I just went through that shit with Thor and I am _not_ going through it again."

As the girl placed her headphones back into place, the God of Lies glared at her, his mind automatically conjuring up ways to make her suffer.

That, mixed with the guards shocked expressions and her humming that song again, made for a long, agonizing trip back to the Avengers Head Quarters.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Darcy tucked her iPhone in her pocket as the car pulled into HQ's garage. Now, mind you, the girl already had plans for the rest of the day. After ensuring Loki was locked up nice and tight in his cell, she'd go round and make sure the Avengers were still in one piece and Rhodey and Sam hadn't broken the ceiling (again) by seeing who could outfly the other, then she'd retire to her apartment where she'd work on the Neurological Recognizer until she got tired or frustrated and then probably watch some classic Non-Disney-Animated movies.

Of course, with the way her life had been going for the past few weeks, she should've known better than to think she'd have a relaxing evening.

Wanda stood by the wall, waiting for the car to park, glancing at her nails in a bored banner. Darcy wasn't going to lie. She was a bit surprised to see her roommate there. Ever since yesterday after she and Ian had another fight, and he walked out on her, Wanda and Jane had been avoiding her like the plague. And whenever Darcy could get within five feet of the astrophysicist and Avenger, they always seemed real nervous and jittery.

By this point, when robots raising chunks of countries into the sky was considered a typical Tuesday, Darcy had stopped commenting on her friend's odd antics and behaviors.

Stepping out of the car, Darcy raised a brow. "What did they break this time?"

"Could you be more specific?" Wanda smirked

"I dunno. Rhodey? Sam? All of 'em?"

"Well, there's another ceiling tile missing from today's flying completion, but that's not why I'm here."

"The coffee machine was like that when I found it, I swear it was!" Wanda laughed. Then, remembering the pile of parts she, Natasha, and Vision had found during break that used to be the coffee machine, started to wonder if her friend was kidding or not.

"Coulson wants to see you. Something about the _New York Incident_ …" Darcy noticed Wanda's normally grassy green eyes flash a bright red after seeing something behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, the brunette saw Loki stepping out of the car, the guards flanking his sides already.

The God in question had cared little for the mortal girls' conversation, so had naturally tuned them out. That was until he felt a slight buzzing near his temples, followed by a slight, minor ache. Smirking her turned to the witch and Darcy Lewis. The witch caught his gaze and immediately jerked her head to the side, eyes reverting back to their original color. "While I understand your abilities are new, you will have to try harder than that, Little Witch, to glimpse my thoughts. _Much harder_ …" The guards jerked Loki away from the car, leaving the two stupefied girls behind.

Darcy blinked for a second before blurting out "You looked in his head?!"

"His thoughts aren't as loud as Thor's or Sif's, but they're still loud…"

"You're not supposed to do that without permission, Wans."

"I was curious!" The witch huffed. Shaking her head, she grabbed her friend and steered her towards the nearby elevators. "Let's go, they're waiting for you."

"Who's waiting for me?"

"Coulson, Hill, the Avengers, Jane, and Erik."

"Ian?"

Wanda glanced away nervously. "Um… He's _busy_."

"Oh…" Darcy had seen Ian once after their fight and that was in the cafeteria when he eating with some friends from the IT department, pointedly ignoring her and the other Avengers.

The rest of the walk to the elevator and the first five minutes or so of the ride to the right floor was spent in awkward silence. Until Darcy exhaled, "So… what'd you see?"

"What?"

"Inside Loki's head, remember? You had _at least_ as good ten seconds in there before he caught you. You've had to have seen something!"

Wanda rubbed her arm, rocking back and forth on the balls of her heels before saying "Well… I saw a _couple things_ …"

"You are awesome!" Darcy beamed. "What were they?"

"I'm pretty sure looking in his head put me on his 'Kill First' list, telling you would probably put me somewhere on the 'Kill as Slowly and Painfully as Possible First' list."

"Like that weirdo will hear it from here! What were they what were they what were they?"

"You're not going to stop asking until I tell you. Are you?"

"Uh-huh. What were they what were they what were they what were they?"

"Fine! There was one that was kind of weird. But it was short, too…"

"What was it?"

"He was blue, I think? It was too short for me to really tell."

"Ok, whatevs. Thor kinda already told me about that. Wait, what was the other one?"

Wanda pursed their lips as they arrived at their floor. Walking out of the elevator, the witch gave Darcy a slightly scared look. "That one freaked me out a bit."

"What was it?"

"He was in space somewhere… Everything was dead. He was talking to… I don't even know what it was. It had six fingers, this weird hood thing, and it looked pretty alien."

"Define alien."

"Six fingers isn't enough?"

"The author of all three journals in _Gravity Falls_ has six fingers and he's human. You're gonna have to give me more than that."

"Look, the thing Loki was talking to an alien. Let's just leave it at that."

"Well, what were they saying?"

"I don't know. I only caught a short glimpse of it. Something along the lines of 'You will have your war, get us the Tesseract or else, etc.' There was one thing that stuck out though. The alien was saying something like 'He will make you want something like pain' or something like that."

"Huh." Darcy shrugged as the two girls continued on. "Weird."

Before they entered the room where everyone had supposedly gathered, Darcy froze and her brows were drawn down in a thoughtful thrown. "I just thought of something."

"Should I be scared?" Wanda teased.

"Remember what Sif was telling us about someone called a The Mad Titan looking for the Infinity Stones?"

"Yeah."

"And the Tesseract is an Infinity Stone."

"Ok…"

"And what you just said. What the alien said, something like 'Get us the Tesseract or else'. Right?"

"Um, yes…"

"And that whole 'He will make you crave pain' and shit."

"Is there a point to all this?"

"You don't think that this 'Mad Titan' guy is the same 'He' who basically threatened to kill Loki, do you?"

Wanda's eyes widened slightly as a few puzzle pieces came into place, and a slight fear seemed to settle itself permanently into her stomach.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Upon walking into the conference room, Darcy and Wanda were greeted with the usual "Please have a seat and we can begin," spiel from Hill and Coulson, and a refreshing "So, what did you do to the coffee machine, Lewis?"

Darcy smirked. "What'd you do to the ceiling, Wilson?" Rhodey started to laugh, but Darcy put an end to that. "Oh, don't think you're off the hook, War Machine. Remember, even without permission, I can still get access to _every_ security camera in this place. So, you two might as well come clean."

Rhodey and Sam glanced away sheepishly, while Natasha smirked at the young brunette. "My respect for you has now grown."

Meanwhile, Hill rolled her eyes. "I knew I'd regret hiring you one day."

Once Darcy was seated between Steve and Erik and Wanda made herself comfortable on Vision's armrest, Coulson approached the table with a plastic bag in hand. "What do we currently know about the _New York Incident_?"

"You guys don't have to walk on eggshells either. I can handle it." Steve added.

"We know HYDRA orchestrated the attack," Vision said, not knowing where else to start.

"We know that Bucky was the sort of head of the attack. Anyone else working with him was either killed in the attack or has already been arrested." Natasha added.

"Bucky attack Darcy out of the blue and, um… He-who-shall-not-be-named, for whatever reason, saved her ass." Rhodey said.

"I think I would've preferred it if Voldemort would've saved me." Darcy told the War Machine.

Wanda looked like she wanted to say something, but she closed her mouth, thinking otherwise. Coulson set the bag on the table and slid it over to the Avengers and their cohorts. Jane fingered the edge of the bag. "What's this?"

"As Miss Lewis was taken to the E.R. for treatment the other week, this fell out of her pocket." Coulson explained as Darcy's eyes widened in recognition. "Results came back. This is a tracker. One of the more technologically advanced trackers I've seen, I might add."

"Technologically advanced?" Rhodey questioned.

"It works as a typical tracker would, but it's smarter." Hill elaborated. "This one, for example, has a biosensor that detects a person's scent and hones in on it. Basically, once it has a person's scent, it can't track anyone else."

"Someone planted this on Darcy?" Erik questioned.

"Yes. They wanted to make sure that Bucky was able to track Darcy wherever she went for the duration of the attack." Hill said.

 _Well, that explains him doubling back…_ Darcy thought.

"Is HYDRA this technologically advanced, might I ask?" Vision said, raising his hand shyly.

"No," Wanda shook her head, "they have groundbreaking inventions, yes, but I do not think this is one of them."

"Wanda's right." Steve agreed. "HYDRA's done some impressive things, but I don't think this is their handiwork."

"Are you all suggesting that someone other than HYDRA orchestrated the attack?" Hill asked.

Sam shrugged. "Looks like it,"

"Darcy," Jane turned toward her friend, "I'm not sure if you know, but do you remember _anything_ about finding that tracker or anything else right before the attack."

After a moment of quiet thought, Darcy's eyes widened in shock and she breathed out "Yes,"

"What do you remember?" Coulson asked.

"Right before the attack, like literally right before all the gunshots, I was walking down the sidewalk and some chick purposefully bumped into me!"

"What did she look like?"

 _Ooh._ Darcy cringed. "Um… That might be a problem…"

"Why?"

"You don't remember what she looked like?" Natasha asked.

"What's there to remember? She was wearing these big sunglasses that covered her face and some trench coat. She looked like someone from an Alfred Hitchcock movie!"

"Who?" Steve and Vision chorused.

"Don't worry, Steve." Natasha assured the soldier. "Just because the 'C' word is in his name, it's not a swear words. I promise,"

"What have I ever done to deserve this?" Steve face palmed.

"'On your left'." Sam drawled, glaring at Steve, who suddenly looked sheepish.

"Are you sure you didn't notice any other distinguishable features? Any at all?" Coulson probed.

Darcy hummed thoughtfully, "Um… she had blonde hair? Short-ish, kinda curly I guess. Oh, and she was a couple inches taller than me, I think."

"That's it?" Coulson clarified. Darcy nodded and he turned to Hill. "Start going over security feed, maybe one of our cameras caught a glimpse of this woman."

As Hill nodded and left the room, one thought rang through everyone's mind:

 _If HYDRA didn't orchestrate the attack, then who did?_

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

It was late at night. Wanda and Darcy had hit, yet another, roadblock with the Recognizer. Both girls weren't tired enough to go to bed, but didn't want to risk waking Jane or Ian (who had actually came back to the apartment that night) by watching TV or a movie.

Feeling a bit peck-ish, the girls had made their way to the cafeteria (which was a 24/7 operation at HQ). Grabbing some Cinnamon Rolls from the vending machine and a couple waters along with it, the girls took up the corner table by the window.

Wanda had asked Darcy about her first day of chaperoning Loki, and Darcy explained it was rather uneventful until he asked about the Hunger Games. From that point, the conversation had derived from 'Holy Crap; Loki might actually find out about the Hunger Games, oh crap this is bad!' to 'Ok, which of these idiots would survive the Hunger Games?'

"I'm telling you, Natasha would win hands down!" Darcy insisted.

Wanda shook her head. "I'm telling you, Sam or Steve would be the better pick."

"She once made a blow dart out of a tampon."

"Steve is stronger than half of anyone here and Sam can fly."

"No outside weapons allowed,"

"Maybe a sponsor gave him his suit?"

"Yeah right, a tiny bowl of medicine cost someone hundreds of dollars in the first week. Like they'd spring for that whole mechanic-mess."

"Hm, fair point."

"Y'know, we're missing the obvious answer here. Clint would win, hands down."

"Clint?"

"Yeah!"

"Why him?"

"Um, he's called 'Katniss' and 'Hunger Games' for a reason."

"Mind if I join you ladies?" Both girls jumped a bit and glanced up at Nick Fury, who was holding a small cup of coffee.

"Um… sure, be our guest." Wanda gestured to the chair between her and Darcy. Both girls exchanging confused/slightly-apprehensive looks.

"So," Darcy said, after a terse moment of silence between the three, "what brings you hear, Pirate Pablo?"

Wanda sent her a look as Fury took a sip of his coffee. "Couldn't sleep, wandering around, I wanted a cup of coffee. Odd, how the one in the break room isn't functioning anymore…"

"At least it wasn't on fire." Wanda pointed out. Darcy kicked her shin and glared in response.

"So, I hear you two have taken up a new project."

"Uh, yeah, the Neurological Recognizer. It's a piece of work…" Wanda trailed off awkwardly.

"Yeah, it's pretty hard figuring out what part of the brain responds to memory solidification—"

"That's not the project I was referring too," Fury told them, "I was talking about Loki."

Both girls exchanged uneasy glances before exhaling. "Yeah, we're on the 'Loki Project'."

When Fury raised a brow but said nothing, Darcy continued. "I mean, I don't know what you want to hear. He spent a majority of today pretending I don't exist… Or trying to figure out ways to kill me, I dunno."

"He's powerful," Fury pointed out.

"Yeah, he can probably kill us all if you guys didn't have those weird cuffs on him." Darcy straightened as she realized something. Eyeing Fury, she continued. "Y'know, there's something kinda poetic about harvesting the material to build your own handcuffs."

Fury shrugged noncommittedly.

Wanda narrowed her eyes, the green flashing a bright red for an instant, before she spoke. "Well, it's a good thing he's locked up where no one can reach him."

"Very good indeed—"

"You want Loki as an ally?!" Wanda stood up suddenly, almost knocking over her chair in the process, beyond shocked at what she was able to glimpse from the former Director's head.

"What the what…?" Darcy trailed off, mouth hanging open in surprise.

Fury didn't glare or shout at them or anything he usually does with the Avengers or Tony. The girls could give him that much. He merely took a long, slow sip of his coffee before fixing them with a hard look. "Yes, I wish to make Loki an ally." Darcy opened her mouth to interrupt him but he simply held up his hand to silence them. "Now, I'm not saying I want to make him an Avenger, far from it. I just think someone with Loki's skills could be valuable in today's world."

"What're you getting at?" Wanda asked skeptically.

"It's a strange world we live in today, girls. A world where billionaire's can fly around in robotic suits, Gods fall from the sky and bring alien armies with them, and sociopathic robots lifting cities into the sky is now considered normal."

"And the mind-controlled super soldiers from the 1940's. Don't forget the mind-controlled super soldiers from the 1940's." Darcy pointed out.

Glancing at her briefly, Fury nodded. "Right… The mind-controlled super soldiers from the 1940's…"

"But why Loki… He's… Crazy!" Wanda protested.

"Not to mention a jerk. I mean, I've met some serious pricks before, but Loki's a fucking cactus." Darcy added.

"Yes, he is. I'm not going to argue with you two on either points. But," Fury paused as the girls groaned at the 'but' in his sentence, "he could be useful."

"Useful how?"

"Thor is strong, he can fly, and not to mention that hammer of his packs a serious punch. But that's just it, isn't it? He's just the big guy with the hammer, isn't he?" Darcy nodded, oddly enough following Fury's train of thought. "But what about Loki? He can shapeshift, perform magic, not to mention he is strong and a trained warrior."

"But he's volatile and nuttier than a ten-ton bag of pecans smothered in peanut butter encased in a cashew the size of China!" Wanda exclaimed.

"Yet he's here."

"Not by choice," Darcy mumbled.

"Are you sure about that?"

"He's made it pretty clear that he still views us as ants that need to be ruled."

"Then why did he show up here in the first place?"

That made both girls pause. Thinking it over, they realized Fury had a point. There were a total of Nine Realms in this fucked up universe of theirs. Loki could've easily transported himself to any one of them. But no, he chose Earth. Why?

"Not to mention, what he did when he first got back. Or are you still denying everything that happened, Miss Lewis?" Wanda chocked down a giggle at Fury's smirk and Darcy grumbling "He didn't save me, Director Know-it-all."

"My point is, Loki is a powerful man to the point he might actually be the God he always claims he is. Now, wouldn't that be someone we want to consider an ally?"

"I guess…" The girls chorused begrudgingly.

"Problem is, how can we be certain that he'll stay a possible ally to _our_ side?"

"Um… we can't?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. Especially nowadays with HYDRA running rampant as they are."

"You think they will try to convince Loki to assist them?"

"Wouldn't take much convincing on their part. He hates us, they hates us, and just about everyone hates us now…" Fury pointed out. "However—"

"Oh, I don't like where this is going."

"—there might be a way to make sure that doesn't happen."

"This I have to here." Wanda leaned back in her chair, waiting.

"Ever heard the phrase 'Kill 'em with kindness'?" Fury asked

"You want me to make nice with Loki?" Darcy asked, incredulous.

"Make nice, befriend, whatever works for you."

" _Befriend_? No offense, Mofo, but did you hit your head on something before you got here? Cause that's fucking mental!"

"How so?"

"He's _Loki_. He doesn't befriend humans, he slaughters them!"

"I'm not asking you to invite him over for Sunday brunch—"

"Thank God for that…" Wanda mumbled

"—but what I am asking you is to treat him with respect."

"But I don't even treat the Avengers with respect!"

"It's true, she doesn't." Wanda agreed. "After she saw the damage of Rhodey and Sam's latest flying contest, she made them mop the floor with tomato sauce and mud and then clean it up with paper towels. _Just_ paper towels."

"The paper towels were your idea, though." Darcy smirked at her friend.

Fury nodded, impressed, before continuing. "Loki is a crazed, sociopathic nut-bag with a God complex. He could kill a man with a flick of his wrist if he so pleased… But that's just more the reason to make sure he stays on our side."

Wanda and Darcy shared a quick look before glancing outside. It was dark, moonless night and the only movement they saw were a bunch of ants going to and from their ant hill.

Fury took a final sip of his coffee before gathering the now empty cup and Darcy's cinnamon roll wrapper. "Just think about it." He stood up and walked over to the nearby garbage can. "Oh, and I've been reviewing some footage lately and…"

A moment of silence before Wanda raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"And I've decided that it'd be best if you three start taking some… _classes_."

"Classes?" Wanda asked.

"Three?" Darcy inquired.

"You two and Vision will be taking a few classes on self-defense, how to throw a punch, how to become an S.H.I.E.L.D agent, etc."

"Vision can shot beams of energy out of his forehead and phase threw any material on Earth. And you think he needs to learn how to throw a punch?"

"And you can take control of someone's mind quicker than I can blink and Darcy is better with that EMG than half of the agents here."

"Oh, stop it!" Darcy said proudly, flipping her hair back.

"But what if the day comes and you can't look in a person's head or Vision's stone cracks or Darcy loses her EMG?"

"Never!" Darcy cried dramatically, hand flying to the pocket where she kept _Electabuzz_.

"You'll be happy you all know how to punch and you didn't rely too heavily on the other stuff." Fury said to them. He made his way to the cafeteria's exit, only to stop about halfway there. He glanced back, "Tomato sauce and mud, huh?"

The girls laughed. "Yeah, it was funny to watch."

"And they could only clean up their mess with paper towels?"

"Wasn't going to make it _too_ easy for them," Darcy smirked.

"Y'know, girls, that is some high unconventional thinking."

"Is that a bad thing?" Wanda asked.

"Most people view it as a bad thing, though if you look throughout history, the unconventional thinkers were the ones who made the most impact on the world."

"And then there's Iron Man." Darcy joked.

Fury rolled his eye. "Just so you know, being unconventional could be very dangerous, but also momentously worthwhile."

The girls looked at the old director bemusedly. "We don't think to differently from each other or anyone else here, Mofo. Besides, there punishment was no different from half the other crazy shit we've thought of in the past two weeks."

"Hm, I suppose you're right." As he walked out, Fury smiled at them. Not just a typical 'Goodnight, girls' smile. No, Darcy had seen this smile before. It was the same smile he had given her at Barton's farmhouse and after he found out she was tracking Ultron without the others knowing.

The smile that made it seem like Darcy and Wanda were answers to some big, impossible question.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Loki had been calmly resting on the cot they provided for him, staring up at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to claim him. He had heard her coming from down the hall and frowned as she knocked on the glass of his cell.

"Hey, you awake?" Darcy Lewis asked.

He didn't glance at her. Merely blinked at the ceiling.

"Pfft, whatever." He thought she would leave, turn around and walk back out where she came from. That's what everyone did and has done for the majority of his long life. He doesn't expect her to be any different.

Only, she doesn't leave. She merely pulls out a tiny plastic rectangle from her pocket and slides it across a panel on the wall. A green light flashes over her face briefly and she steps into his cell.

He watches her as she slings a small bag from her shoulders and rummages around in it for a moment before she began pulling out books. " _Othello_ , _Much Ado about Nothing_ , _Coriolanus_ , _King John_ , and for the heck of it—and because I lent my other Shakespeare books to Vision—I threw in _Frankenstein_ for you." She set all the books down on the floor three feet from his cot. Shifting the bag back onto her shoulders, she glanced at him and met his gaze. "Um… I heard how you talk and remembered how Thor talked when he first came here. Shakespeare should be right up your diction's alley, it's old enough and sounds sort of like how you guys talk. And _Frankenstein_ is kinda similar I guess…" There was a lull in the one-sided conversation as she awkwardly fiddled with her hands, shifting from one foot to another, but never breaking eye contact. "You weren't sleeping, were you?"

Loki glanced at the stack of books by her feet. She had brought him books. _She_ had brought him books. _Darcy Lewis_ had brought _him_ books from, apparently, her own personal collection, for him to read.

He glanced back at her, his own emerald green boring into her ever-changing blue. Just another mystery to befuddle him, Loki suppose.

"Um… call the books a sort of peace offering, I guess." She ventured. Nodding to the books but never looking away from his eyes. "We kinda got off on the wrong foot and, well, that sucks. Because we're gonna be working closely for a while now, it seems. So, I give you these books with the promise I'll be civil to you if you be civil to me."

Loki continued to stare at her, giving the girl no response.

Eventually, she did break eye contact, glancing at her feet and then the books. She nodded at him one more time and mumbled "See you tomorrow," before rushing out of the cell. The door flashed red as it closed and, subsequently, locked after her departure.

The God of Lies glanced at the small pile of books. The only other person to bring him books in a prison cell was Frigga.

Darcy Lewis had come here to give him books as a sort of peace treaty between them. An apology. Not to mention, she had found books old enough to where it resembled his pattern of speech, something easier for him to understand than the jumbled mess of modern day dialect.

She had put thought into this offering. That stirred something within him that he quickly ignored.

Glancing back up at the ceiling and closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would claim him soon enough.

As he drifted in between dream and reality, a tune slowly drifted through Loki's head. He didn't recognize it at first, but found it pleasant enough. It was only before he fell asleep that he remembered where he had heard the tune.

It was the same one Darcy Lewis had been humming earlier that day. The one about a Hanging Tree…

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 **And that's that.**

 **Ok, so I was looking at my planner for this story, and if it seems like things are starting to slow down a bit… They are. But that is only because some information needs to be put into if first before something…** _ **interesting**_ **happens.**

 **Don't get me wrong, some serious shit is gonna hit the fan soon, but I have to get a few things out of the way.**

 **Alright, I hope you all had a Merry Christmas. I will try and update again by New Year's but in case I don't, I hope you guys have a Happy New Year!**

 **A few questions before I go: Who do you guys think, out of the whole MCU (TV shows, Guardians, unreleased media, etc.) do you think would survive the Hunger Games? My money's on either Natasha or Gamora. How was your guys' Christmas/Holidays? Mine was good. Also, who has seen the new** _ **Star Wars**_ **flick? Me and the family are going the weekend after New Year's. No spoilers I just want to see how it is!**

 **Reviews are greatly appreciated and I hope to see you guys soon!**


	13. 12: Take your best shot, Cupcake

**I'm back! Miss me? I had a guest reviewer so I'll address that now.**

 _ **Guest**_ **: I would love nothing more than to have Jessica Jones cameo in this story but there's two major problems with that. 1: This story takes place before** _ **Jessica Jones**_ **. 2: Don't shoot me, but I haven't seen it yet. I really want to see it, but I don't have Netflix… Or good internet providers. I have a friend who has Netflix but I haven't been able to go over to watch it yet. I'll see if I can't find a way to mention her or some character from the show in the future, but for now, no Jessica Jones. Sorry! (But I totally agree, I haven't seen the show, but I've seen Tumblr posts about her. She and Darcy would be** _ **awesome**_ **friends).**

 **Ok, this chapter will probably be shorter than the last one, but it's supposed to be. This chapter's main purpose is to introduce a new character.**

 **Disclaimer: I only OC's and that's it. Everything else belongs to Marvel, Disney, and respected personnel, blah, blah, blah.**

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 _Darcy hugged Mr. Bun-Bun tightly to her chest. The five-year-old was standing by the door to her parents' bedroom. Well, now it was just her mommy's bedroom, she guessed._

 _The funeral was that morning. Her Grandma and Grandpa had come over to help Aaron and Mommy make lunch and dinner. Only, Mommy didn't help make dinner. She just went up to her and Daddy's bedroom. Darcy assumed it was her bedtime, even though her brother had woken her up an hour before the funeral._

 _As far as day's go, it could've been worse. Aaron and Mommy let her hold onto Mr. Bun-Bun throughout the ceremony. Darcy had cried into Aaron's lap when her cousin John started to sing Amazing Grace during this picture show of her Daddy's life. She cried even more when Mommy and Aaron started crying at a video of Darcy's first Christmas._

 _All of them were together. Just them four, one big, happy family._

 _They couldn't have that anymore. Darcy couldn't have that anymore._

 _Grandpa had played house and pirate ship with her after the funeral. Grandma made Darcy and Aaron her world-famous Snickerdoodles and Aaron had even put_ Thumbelina _(her favorite movie) and had made Carmel Corn as a snack for the movie._

 _Grandma and Grandpa had left after it got dark and Aaron had sent her up to get ready for bed, but Darcy merely shut her door and played with Mr. Bun-Bun and her other toys._

 _She didn't play very long though. How could she? The house was to quiet. Normally, at this time of day. Mommy would be baking cupcakes in the kitchen, Daddy would be watching_ Bill Nye the Science Guy _downstairs in the living room, and Aaron would be in his room listening to rock music._

 _Only Mommy wasn't baking cupcakes and Aaron wasn't in his room listening to rock music and Daddy wasn't watching_ Bill Nye the Science Guy _downstairs in the living room. He'd never watch_ Bill Nye the Science Guy _downstairs in the living room ever again._

 _Being the curious little girl she was, Darcy stepped outside her room and glanced around. Her brother's bedroom door was open and she found that odd, considering he slept with it closed. Hugging her beloved stuffed bunny closer to her body, Darcy set out to explore, hoping Aaron wouldn't see her considering she was supposed to be in her PJ's and in bed, not up late and still in the black dress she wore for the funeral._

 _At the end of the hall, Darcy saw the light on in her parent's—Mommy's bedroom. Walking on tip toes, she crept closer and was surprised to hear her brother's voice._

" _Mom? Mom, c'mon. Say something… Say something, anything! Please!"_

 _Darcy knelt down on the floor and peeked into the room to see her Mommy, still in the black and grey dress she wore to the funeral, sitting on the bed, staring blankly out the window. Aaron was kneeling on the floor in front of her and he was crying. Darcy wanted to run in and hug her big brother and tell him not to cry, but she just stayed there. Watching._

" _Mom, mom please. Think about Darcy, she's only five. She needs you, mom. Mom, please. Mom, say something!" Aaron was screaming now. Darcy thought that any moment, Mommy would yell back at Aaron and tell him to go to his room like she used to. "Mom, say something! Don't just sit there and stare at nothing! Please, mom…_ Mom! _"_

 _Darcy slid down the wall and sat cross-legged on the floor. As she listened to her big brother yell at her Mommy, Darcy felt tears rolling down her cheeks. Hugging Mr. Bun-Bun as tightly as she could, Darcy noticed her tears staining his bright lilac fur._

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Darcy jolted awake, tiredly glancing around the room. Once she came to the conclusion she was not in her childhood home, she groaned and buried her face into her pillow, only to find it was stained with her tears.

"Stupid emotional dreams… That was twenty years ago, I'm over this shit!"

Rolling onto her back, Darcy frowned. Ian had taken to sleeping on the couch lately, despite both of them having apologized for their fight earlier that week. She missed him. Especially now, after having _that_ dream/memory.

Things hadn't been going great between the two. They seemed to fight everyday about everything, anything, and nothing at all. It was exhausting but it seemed as if there was nothing they could do.

If she was being honest with herself, Darcy was having serious doubts about her and Ian's relationship. It was exhausting fighting all the time, and they both ended up walking away angry. No make-up-sex or anything. Just Ian storming off to wherever and Darcy sitting in her room, listening to Jack Skellington sing about his many mood swings.

Darcy glanced at her clock and groaned. It was only three in the morning. Definitely not an appropriate time to lament on her failing relationship. Resolving to talk to Ian tomorrow, Darcy rolled over and attempted to go back to sleep.

Her dream and the memory of her and Ian's most recent fight kept Darcy up for enough half-hour before she drifted into a restless sleep.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"Dude, is that all you have to wear?" Darcy asked Vision as he and Wanda walked into the training room. She and Wanda were dressed in what S.H.I.E.L.D had provided for them. Black leggings, grey tank top, and grey-black sneakers. All brand new and never worn.

Darcy would've been excited about the prospect of new clothes if they weren't clothes meant for exercising and physical activity.

"I was unaware my attire would have to be changed for this event." Vision said, glancing around at the other trainees around the room.

"I think you'll be fine," Wanda said, pulling her long brown hair into a high pony-tail, "just lose the cape. It might be more of a hassle than and benefit."

Vision nodded and before his signature golden cape disappeared in a brief flash of dim light. Wanda blinked, not believing what she saw, as Darcy narrowed her eyes. "I will never understand how you work…"

The three friends approached the center of the room, only for a few of the younger trainees to immediately move away from them. Vision and Wanda glanced around, a bit surprised. "What?" Wanda asked. "Are they scared of us?"

"Scared of you two." Darcy said. "You're big bad Avengers with super powers. I bet half of the people here are questioning why you two are here in the first place… I know I am."

"We're not the scary," Vision argued.

"Not to me. But to a couple of new recruits, you guys are freaking intimidating." Darcy said, pulling her hair into a sloppy bun atop her head.

"It was not my intention to be viewed in such a way." Wanda and Darcy smiled at the android. He was pure and innocent and new and had a tendency to apologize for things that were of no fault of his own. It was freaking adorable and the girls hoped it would never stop, even though they knew, in time, it probably would.

"No one usually intends to, Vizh. It just kinda happens." Darcy said.

"They told me I'd be seeing you three here," Natasha said. Approaching the three, smirking. "I just thought Sam's jokes had gotten worse."

"They have," Wanda assured, "but this wasn't a joke."

"What're you three doing here?"

"Could ask you the same thing…"

"Apart of my job is to help oversee new agent training." Natasha said, surveying the group of trainees. "I've been in this game longer than most, I know how to keep people in line."

"You got bored of beating Sam, Rhodey, and these two yolks into shape, didn't you?" Darcy asked knowingly, jabbing her thumb towards Vision and Wanda.

"There's also that. What about you three, what're you doing here?"

"Fury thought it'd be nice if we learned how to throw a punch instead of relying on our powers-slash-mind gem blasts-slash _Electabuzz_."

"Not a horrible idea." Natasha nodded before making her way to the center of the room. "Alright, listen up. The next few weeks will be difficult. You will be battered and bruised when you're done, but you will be that much closer to being an S.H.I.E.L.D agent."

Darcy's eyes widened as she mouthed "Weeks?!" to her friends. Vision lightly elbowed her in the arm and nodded towards Natasha as Wanda whispered "Pay attention!"

"First, we'll learn the basics of sparring. Everyone partner up and we'll begin." Darcy glanced around and frowned. 'Partner up' if you only have two other friends in a class, those are the two worst words in the English language.

Darcy looked at Vision and, for a second, notice that his gaze lingered on Wanda—who was glancing around nervously. _Well,_ Darcy thought with a knowing smile _, there's that._

"Hey, you two should partner up. Being Avengers and all that, you two would be evenly matched. Partner with me or someone else, you might have an unfair advantage." Darcy suggested.

"Oh, are you sure you should not want to partner with one of us, Darcy?" Vision asked

"Nah, you two go on ahead. I'll find another partner." Darcy assured the android.

Wanda shrugged and sent Vision a smile, "Partners?"

"I, uh, yes. I believe so!" The android in question sent Darcy a bright smile as the brunette walked away.

"Crazy kids," Darcy mumbled to herself, glancing around the room. To her disappointment, she found that just about everyone was partnered up. The girl frowned, she had been in this kind of situation before in Gym Class growing up. Odd number of kids plus a Darcy without a friend in said number equals Darcy ends up with the teacher for demonstration.

Only this time, Natasha (the motherfucking Black Widow) was the teacher. She gulped. Getting beat up by Nat for the purposes of teaching trainees wouldn't be horrible, right?"

"Lewis?" The assassin approached her. "Do you not have a partner?"

"Um, no, I don't. Figured we should let Wanda and Vizh pare up." Nodding towards their friends, who were chatting and laughing about something Vision said. "Y'know, because them being Avengers… Unfair advantages and all that."

"Mhmm," Natasha sent Darcy a smirk that said she knew what the real reason was and that she didn't buy any of her bull shit, "so, you don't have a partner."

Bracing herself for the beating her well-meaning friend was going to give her, Darcy shook her head. "No I don't. No partner."

The red head glanced around. "Hmm… Ah." Natasha raised her hand and beckoned to a man leaning against the far wall. "Hey, buddy!" The man pushed himself off the wall and made his way to the two women.

As he approached Darcy noticed that, even though she had made a mental note to try and work things out with Ian, he was a _damn_ fine specimen. Slim build, light brown hair, and his blue eyes seemed to pierce through Darcy's soul. The only downside to him was the scowl he wore, as if he resented being here. Other than that, solid seven-and-a-half. Easy.

"What's your name?" Natasha asked.

"Dennis," the man replied.

"This is your partner, Darcy." The brunette waved awkwardly as the assassin made her way to the center of the room. "Alright, pay attention everyone…"

"So," Darcy began, ignoring what Natasha was trying to say, "How'd you come to work for S.H.I.E.L.D?"

"My family has connections." Dennis replied, looking straight at her chest.

Darcy crossed her arms over said chest. "Oh, um, that's cool. How do you like it here?"

Still looking at her chest, he replied. "Kinda sucks, so far… But it just got better."

That solid seven-and-a-half just dropped down to a three-and-one-fourth. Darcy narrowed her eyes. "Hey, pal. My eyes, yeah, they're up here." She gestured to them and his mouth twisted downward, as if uninterested.

"Yeah, guess they are."

And that three-and-one-fourth just shot straight down to the negative twelve on the attractiveness scale. Darcy was currently debating on whether or not it would be a good idea to punch this 'Dennis' guy in the face. Considering it was a class on self-defense, it probably wouldn't be frowned upon.

"…and begin!"

"What?" Glancing around at the other pairs, Dennis and Darcy found everyone either making punches at their partner or blocking it. "Oh… I guess that we should…"

Dennis braced himself, arms up and ready to block. "Take you best shot, _Cupcake_."

Darcy frowned, balling her hands into fists. Negative twelve just became negative fifty-seven.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

All in all, Darcy was reminded real quickly why she always hated Gym class or any physical activity. She fucking sucked at it.

Sure, she was able to land one or two punches to Dennis's face, but considering he landed at least eight to her stomach, one to her face, and had knocked her down three times already, Darcy didn't consider it a victory.

Finally, after Darcy had mentally cursed Fury a thousand times over by now for making her do this, Natasha had said they were almost done for the day. _Thank Asgard!_ Darcy thought, relieved.

"But, before we go—"

"Dammit." Darcy huffed, slowly getting to her feet, wary not to put too much weight on her left ankle, which she was sure was sprained.

"—we're gonna see how much you all learned from today."

 _I learned that I should've fought harder for my right to not do this, can I leave now?_ Darcy thought sardonically.

"So, who wants to go first?" Natasha glanced at the multiple pairs in front of her. Seeing as how no one volunteer right away, she rolled her eyes and added "First group to go first gets to leave early."

Multiple hands shot up that time.

The Black Widow hummed thoughtfully as she surveyed the group in front of her, deciding just who to pick. Noticing that her friends' eyes lingered on her and Dennis, Darcy glanced down. _Please don't pick me and Dennis please don't pick me and Dennis please don't pick me and—_

"Darcy, Dennis, on the mat!"

 _Fuck._

Darcy slowly makes her way to the mat placed at the center of the room. Dennis follows suite, looking quite smug. Darcy holds her arms um, bracing herself for the fight. Glancing her over, his gaze lingering a bit too long at her chest for Darcy's liking, he smirked.

"Don't get to comfortable, everybody. This shouldn't take too long…"

Darcy felt her cheeks grow hot. Not from flustering, but anger. _Oh, that son of a bitch is going down!_

Dennis and Darcy square up and start to slowly circle each other. Darcy is searching his body, searching for his weakness, but aside from his utter lack of decorum, it appears he has none.

One second, Dennis's hand is up by his face, the next it grazes across Darcy's nose, making her stumble back. He punches at her again, but she ducks in time and delivers a quick jab to his side. He grunts a bit but does not move. Darcy punches him again in the stomach, he stumbles back.

 _Go for the stomach,_ Darcy thinks to herself _, it's a cheap shot but like we're gonna have time to fight fair in the real world._

Dennis shakes his head and then readies his arms and bends his knees, like he's ready to spring. "You got spunk… I'd say that's all you got, but we both know that's a lie." He nods towards her chest for what feels like the thousandth time that hour. The thought itself makes Darcy sick, an on an impulse, Darcy kicks him in the side. Or she have kicked him in the side, if he didn't grab her leg and yank her forward, knocking Darcy off balance. Her back smacks into the floor as she twists her body to the side and yanks her foot away. Scrambling to stand up.

 _Stay on your feet, he can't kick you in the head if you stay on your feet._ Darcy tells herself.

"Whenever you two are done with dancing, feel free to take a couple swings at each other." Natasha calls out. "This is a training exercise. Not dance class."

Dennis's arm twitches and suddenly Darcy feels a sharp pain across her jaw, spreading through her face and making her vision go black at the edges. Ears ringing and off-balance, Darcy blinks and lurches to the side, subsequently dodging another of Dennis' fists.

Narrowing her eyes in an effort to focus in on him, Darcy lunges forward and blindly punches. She lightly jabs his shoulder. Grabbing her arm, Dennis twists her around and shoves her to the floor. From somewhere behind her, Darcy hears Wanda and Vision cheering her on.

 _Stay on your feet_ is the only thought in Darcy's head. Dennis kicks her in the side and Darcy topples onto her side, her elbow scrapping the ground. Blinking, sluggish and slow and hot and sweaty, Darcy pulls herself up but Dennis is already there. He grabs her by the hair with one hand and punches her in the face with other. This pain feels different to Darcy, yet oddly familiar. Her brain, being as confused and beaten as it is, chooses this time to flashback to her first confrontation with Bucky. Darcy tries to shove him away, her hands slapping his arms, and he punches her again, this time in the ribs.

Darcy blinks, seeing many colors swirling in her vision. Green, blue, red, so much red. Darcy starts to wonder if she has a bloody nose, but she is to dizzy to look down.

Shakily standing to her feet, Darcy as to blink a few times and turn around slowly before she spots Dennis at the center of the mat. He laughs. "You don't give up do you?"

Dumbly, Darcy shakes her head.

He laughs again. "Luckily, neither do I."

He lunges at her and Darcy lurches to the side. Blindly she draws her elbow back and brings it down quickly. It rams into his ear and he is knocked down onto his knees. Without thinking, Darcy kicks and is pleased when her heel connects with his. When she goes to kick him a second time, he is ready. He grabs her leg and flips her onto her back. Delivering a swift punch to her stomach, making her gasp for air.

Once he's up, he frowns at her. Then Dennis kicks her. Again, again, and again until she is kicked onto her other side. Darcy lets out a garbled cry of pain when he accidentally on purpose kicks her in the head.

"Alright, that's enough!" Natasha shouts.

Not wasting any time, Wanda and Vision dart forward. Dennis glares at them both as Wanda shoves him out of the way. With Vison on her left and Wanda on her right, the two Avengers hoist her up, draping Darcy's arms across their shoulders as her head rolls forward. Blood dripping from her nose and panting.

As Wanda and Vision helped steady her, Dennis glanced back at Darcy. "That the best you got, Cupcake?" he asked sarcastically before walking away from the mat.

Darcy glared at his retreating form, still feeling quite dizzy. "I don't like him."

"I don't know, he's _quite_ the charmer." Wanda said sarcastically.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Sam winced as he took in Darcy's black and blue nose. Turning her head slowly this way and that, he clucked his tongue. "Yeah, you took one hell of a beating."

Steve stabbed his fork through his chicken salad and grimaced. "That guy sure seemed to know what he was doing. You sure he was a trainee?"

Vision frowned thoughtfully. "He did seem to know what he was doing."

Wanda approached the table with a bag of ice in hand, switching it out for the one Darcy held against her head, she shook her head. "Even if he didn't know, he sure seemed smug about his ability to win."

"Sorry, again, about that." Natasha said. "I wanted to but in it's just… I don't even know."

"You're fine 'Tasha." Darcy assured her red-head friend. "I'm just not used to getting my ass kicked."

A slight amount of laughter went through the group. Rhodey gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "Well, I'm glad you came out in one piece. Means I can still get revenge for the whole 'Tomato-sauce-and-mud-then-wax' thing yesterday."

Darcy snorted, "As if you two could come up with anything so genius as our 'Tomato-sauce-and-mud-then-wax' idea."

"And don't think about hacking into F.R.I.D.A.Y either, the three of us have an understanding." Wanda added, smiling at Sam and Rhodey smugly.

After that, the lunch passed with a companionable chatter. Erik and Jane were in some science-y meeting with Dr. Cho so they were taking lunch in the lab today. Leaving just the Avengers and Darcy to talk about the little things in life.

Darcy, on the other hand, mainly sat in her chair, praying to Asgard that the pain meds Vision had retrieved for her would start to kick in soon, her nose hurt like a bastard. Every now and then, she picked at her chicken and pasta, but just didn't have an appetite. Once in a while, Darcy would turn and observe the many people milling about for lunch.

At one point, she spotted Ian in the far corner of the cafeteria. Ironically, the table she and Wanda had sat at the night before, discussing who would win the Hunger Games before Fury interrupted them.

He was laughing with some of his IT friends. Laughing at whatever they said, and he seemed to be hanging on every word this cute blonde girl was saying.

She missed him.

She wanted to strangle him.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Loki frowned at the pile of books. They taunted him, mocked him. They were a burden disguised as a gift. A peace offering, she had said. A peace offering from one Darcy Lewis.

Blue eyes haunted him in sleep and he was baffled as to why they did so. Why it mattered if they did so and what he found some fascinating that they haunt him in the first place. Her blue eyes that were unguarded. And cold. And warm and deep and sharp and hard and—

So many things. Blue eyes that were so many things all at once.

Now, there were books.

Darcy Lewis had brought him books.

Loki stood up, approaching the pile as if it were a wounded animal, and hummed thoughtfully.

 _There is no strategic advantage for this,_ he thought. _There is no way she could benefit from this. All she gets in the end is a slightly smaller book collection._ So why would Darcy Lewis do this.

 _She's a riddle._ He decides. _A riddle with blue, blue eyes._

He tries to write it off as that much. A simple curiosity with something he doesn't understand. It is not the first time that has happened, and it will mostly likely not be the last. But there is still the nagging thought that _he_ saved _her_. That he gave up his last chance of freedom to save her from the Winter Soldier. Loki would do many things to solve a riddle, but not that much.

The God of Lies bends down and picks up the book entitled _King John_. Figuring he has nothing better to do with his time, Loki opens the book.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Wanda and Darcy were calmly chatting about new ideas for the Neurological Recognizer when they walked to the apartment. True, none of the ideas were sound ones, but something was better than nothing and as of now, the girls had nothing.

When they walked in, Ian was just walking in from the kitchen with a bottle of water in hand. Upon seeing Darcy's bruised nose and slight limp, he dropped the bottle in surprise. "What the devil happened to her?!"

Rushing to help Wanda set her on the couch, Darcy sighed. "Some guy in training, Dennis. He's tougher than he looks."

Ian shook his head and gently grabbed Darcy's hands. "Do you need anything?"

"We gave her some medicine about an hour or so ago. She won't need any until tonight." Wanda glared at the young Brit. As of this morning, Jane and Wanda had taken to glaring daggers at Ian. Hoping that the phrase 'If looks could kill' would soon become literal.

They both wanted to tell Darcy, but how could they? Butting into their friend's relationship like that? They'd seem like a couple bitches trying to pull them apart.

Both had seen how the relationship was going. Best case scenario; Ian would come clean and the two would break things off on their own. Worst case scenario; they'd sit Darcy down and gently break the news to her. Granted, neither scenario was good, but they didn't want to pry in their best friend's romantic life.

So, they just silently cast glares at Ian and hoped either his conscious would make him confess, or that one Jessica girl would call again. Either way, the truth would be set free.

"Actually, I think I need another pain-killer. My head is killing me." Darcy complained.

"I don't know…" Wanda eyed her friend's nose uncertainly. "We just gave you the heavy medicine that might not be the best idea."

"What if I just take some Ibuprofen?"

"Do we have any?"

"I think we have some in the medicine cabinet," Ian suggested. "I'll have a look."

"Um, maybe Wanda could get it?" Darcy asked, holding Ian's hand and tugging on it lightly. "I kinda needed to talk to you about something."

"Oh," Ian nodded his understanding, "alright, love."

Darcy turned to Wanda. "Could you give us a moment?"

 _Don't say yes. Don't say yes._ Wanda smiled, "Of course!"

 _God dammit, Maximoff, grow a back bone!_ Wanda slowly stood up, narrowing her eyes at Ian as she walked out. Once she was out of eye sight, she heard him say "What did you want to talk about?" Wanda booked it to the guest bathroom at the end of the hall, where they usually kept all the medicines and such.

"Ibuprofen, Ibuprofen, where the hell is Ibuprofen?" Wanda muttered, shuffling various pill containers and bottles and other items around. A few unopened toothpaste boxes fell into the sink, along with a small bottle of Talcum Power _Why do we have Talcum Powder? Focus!_

Finally, after much shuffling of various medicines, the witch finally found what she was looking for. A small bottle of Ibuprofen. Smiling, she quietly and quickly made her way back to the living room, only to come to a halt when she overheard the conversation.

"…Ok, so we agree. We both get one more chance. And if it doesn't work, it doesn't work." Darcy said.

"I'll make it work, love. I promise."

"I'll try too. Cross my heart!"

"I love you,"

"I love you, too."

Wanda's shoulders sagged a bit. _We should've told her._ The witch thought. _We should've told her the instant we found out._ Now Darcy would get her heart broken, and Jane and Wanda would've known about it and could've done something to cushion the blow.

Taking a deep breath to compose herself, and reminding herself that strangling Ian would cause more harm than good at the moment, Wanda put on a smile and walked back into the room. "I found the Ibuprofen!"

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Bucky sat in his cell, day dreaming and trying to remember. He wasn't sure what he was trying to remember, but he knew he was trying to remember something.

The former HYDRA assassin saw her coming out of the corner of his eyes, but when she knocked lightly on the glass of his cell, he still jumped a bit. Even if it was mostly for her benefit. Bucky glanced up and smiled slightly, "Hi."

"Hi." Her head was ducked down, almost as if she was shy.

"Didn't think I'd see you down here again, doll." And he didn't. Her bodyguard—though, after the little stunt she pulled a couple weeks ago, he was starting to doubt that guy was her bodyguard—was moved into a new cell, he heard. A whole new, unused wing of the building set aside just to house _that_ guy. So, now that Darcy was down here, Bucky couldn't help think that she was down here to see him, or the irrational sense of glee that filled him with seeing her again.

Bucky could see Darcy smile a bit, but not much. "Uh… I needed to talk to you."

"Alright." he shrugged. That's when he realized she was still glancing down. No, that she was hiding something. "There a reason you find the floor so interesting? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a nice floor…"

He was surprised by her laugh. He had never heard her laugh before, it was loud yet pretty. Bucky liked her laugh. He decided right then and there that he _really_ liked her laugh.

"Ok, you caught me." She raised her head and he cringed. Darcy nodded in understanding as he took in her black-and-blue nose.

"What happened to you, doll?"

"Some guy in training. He's got a good punch… and kick. Think it makes up for the lack of likeable qualities." Bucky chuckled at that.

"So, aside from coming here to check out the floor and show me you stink at fighting—" Bucky's smile might have grown slightly when she laughed again. _Might_ have. "—what did you want to talk about?"

Darcy bit the inside of her cheek. Clear sign of nervousness and uncertainty. "Ok, just let me know if I over step any boundaries or anything but… What did you and Agent Coulson talk about yesterday?"

Bucky frowned and glanced to the side. "Well, I kind of remembered something about the people who—" He glanced up at her suddenly, the uneasiness in his eyes making her frown. "—who… Um, well, you know…"

"Yeah, I know…"

"Yeah…" He cleared his throat. "Well, I remembered something about a man showing me some weird piece of technology… Kind of like a small, black rectangle with a blinking red light at the end."

"The tracker!" Darcy realized.

"Oh, is that what it was?"

"That's what we were told. The science checks out."

"Well, then I remembered some man showing me a tracker."

"Do you remember what he looked like?"

The man shook his head sadly. "Unfortunately, no. I don't."

"Oh," Darcy said awkwardly wrung her hands together.

"But…"

"Liking where this is going." Darcy smirked.

"I do _kind of_ remember what one of his associates looked like." Darcy looked at him expectantly, gesturing for him to tell her. "It was a girl. She had blonde hair pulled back into some kind of bun behind her head. It was weird, it's like there wasn't a hair out of place. Then she had these glasses. Black, I think. Rectangle frames, too."

"Did you tell that to Coulson?"

"I did, but it was a general description. He said they'd look into it, I'm not expecting much though."

He looked so crestfallen. Darcy wanted to lay a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him, but there was still the fact they were separated by a thirteen-inch-thick, maxi glass wall. So, she just settled for placing her hand on the glass and smiling at him sympathetically.

Bucky noticed this and returned the smile. The two fell into a silence, simply staring at each other and smiling. Darcy looked away first, glancing down the hall. He chuckled a bit. "You're not supposed to be down here, huh doll?"

Darcy smiled sheepishly. "Well, I have a higher level of clearance now, but the guard did give me a dirty look on the way down here."

"If you need to go…"

"No! No, I don't…" Darcy paused as she realized something. "I don't have anywhere else to be."

It was technically true. When she left, Ian was sucked into the world of Science by Jane and Erik (not that she was complaining!) and Wanda was in training with Natasha and Vision on how to control her powers better.

"Could I maybe… I dunno… _stay_?"

The irrational feeling of glee just evolved into a wave of utter happiness. Bucky wasn't sure why that happened, but he wasn't complaining. He nodded and smiled. "Nothing stopping you."

She returned the gesture and rocked back and forth on her heels. "So…"

"So…" Silence again. As Darcy studied the cell he was in and he, in turn, studied her and her bruised nose.

She was small, short, and didn't look that physically strong. Darcy was someone who would never be able to punch her way out of a fight. She was small, and he remembered little from the day he—technically—first met her. She was quick and clever. He smirked and stood.

"Show me your beginning stance." Darcy frowned in confusion.

"My what?"

"Your stance. You obviously started some sort of defense class,"

"It's actually a training class to be an agent here. Not my choice,"

"Right. I want to see your beginning stance. Maybe I could give you a few pointers."

She stared at him quizzically for another moment before shifting her feet apart and moving her fists up. He frowned and shook his head. "No, no. Move your arms up a bit. Your face is left practically unprotected." Darcy did just that. "There. Now, it'll be harder for an opponent to land a punch on that pretty face of yours, doll."

Darcy smiled shyly, praying to god he couldn't see the blush starting to form. She'd never admit this out loud, but she was happy he was giving her a few pointers.

She was even happier that he called her doll. It was kind of adorable, really.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Wanda hummed as she made her way to Jane and Erik's lab. The two astrophysicists and Ian had made some kind of breakthrough with the Bifrost. But, Jane being Jane, she had forgotten an important set of notebooks in her lab. Wanda, having nothing better to do than stare longingly at her bed, had been sent to retrieve it.

Usually, this kind of job was reserved for Darcy or Ian. Yet, since Ian was blabbering something science-y with Erik and Darcy didn't returned from wherever the hell she was, the witch had been all but forced to do it.

No big deal, though. Jane's lab was about a five minute walk from the apartment. Get there, get the notebooks, and get back to the apartment and go to bed.

Using her security pass on the already locked door, Wanda pushed the door open and sighed. _Typical Jane,_ the witch thought _, she can name every single constellation and their distance from the Earth, but can't keep a room clean._

Realizing that the sooner she found the notebooks, the sooner she'd get to bed, Wanda walked purposefully towards Jane's desk. Moving various stacks of papers and charts to the floor ("She can nag me about it later," Wanda grumbled, "she wanted those notebooks, she's gonna get those notebooks") Wanda smiled in surprise, finding a large of stack of notebooks on the chair.

It was only then that the Avenger realized that Jane never said or described what the exact notebooks she needed looked like. Shrugging, Wanda twisted her hand and the red aura she was so accustomed to surround her hands. Soon, the notebooks were levitating off the chair.

The sound of a loud snap and something glass shattering down the hall startled Wanda so much she dropped the notebooks.

Whirling around, hands poised and ready to blast the intruder back if the need aroused, only to find the lab was completely empty. Curious, she reached out with her mind to find someone towards the end of the hallway. Walking slowly towards the door, Wanda took a deep breath to steady herself and then lunged out into the hallway.

Dennis glanced at her for a second before bolting down the opposite direction and disappearing. Wanda shouted after him and started to give chase, until she heard the sound of glass crunching under her boots.

"What?" The witch raised a hand, the red aura illuminating the ground.

Shards of glass littered the ground around her. Wanda shifted her gaze to the door that Dennis had obviously broken to get into the room. The doors themselves being broke, gave Wanda little clue as to what was inside. However, on the far left side of the door, was a part of a word Dennis didn't smash down.

AUTHO

 _Autho? What could that mean?_ Wanda wondered. Glancing around, she saw shards on the inside of the room with letters on them, Wanda glanced around before tiptoeing into the room. Crouching down, the red aura illuminated the shards and Wanda was able to piece together the puzzle.

RIZE

D PERSON

E

LL O

NLY

 _Oh, I get it now._

AUTHORIZED PERSONELL ONLY

"Why would Dennis even _want_ to break into here? Why would he?" Wanda questioned. Glancing around the room, the witch saw a row of computers against the far wall. All of them were switched off for the night, well, almost all of them.

A low, blue light cast an eerie glow against the far corner. Curios, Wanda walked over, allowing the red aura to vanish as she approached the technology.

"What the what is going on here?" The girl asked rhetorically upon seeing what was written on the computer.

 _PROCESSING… PROCESSING…_

Processing what, exactly? What was Dennis doing in here? A light _'Bing'_ was heard and Wanda took a cautionary step back. Better safe than sorry.

 _FILE REGISTERED. PREPARING TO DOWNLOAD 'Project Infinity' NOW._

Wanda raised a brow. "Project Infinity?"

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 **I was going to add another scene in, but it didn't seem to fit so I'll just add the scene to a later chapter.**

 **Also, three days since the last chapter. I rock!**

 **Ok, I hope you all have a happy New Year and I'll see you guys in 2016. Maybe sooner than later if I get more reviews. Hint, hint.**


	14. 13: Small world, huh?

**I have a legitimate reason for why this took so long. My choir teacher/play director, let's call her Mama C, her husband has just passed away and we've all been there to support her. So, if you guys could, keep Mama C in your thoughts because all things considered, her husband was still pretty young and honestly she is like a second mother to me and everyone in the plays and choir so...**

 **That being said, I would also like to dedicate this chapter to David Bowie and Alan Rickman. Though this chapter has nothing to do with either of them, it's the thought that counts.**

 **And, shout out to** _ **TostitoQueen**_ **. I've been reading her story** _ **Anomaly Mishap**_ **and it is amazing. Go read it, I demand you do so.**

 **Disclaimer: I have** _ **Antman**_ **on DVD now, does that count? No...? Ok. I own nothing then. Except my OC's… which we finally see in this chapter… Yay.**

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Nick Fury blinked tiredly at his computer screen as he downed the remaining dregs of coffee at the bottom of his mug. Glancing at the clock on the stove, he shook his head.

"Two in the morning… Any sane man would call it a night." _Then again, when have I ever claimed to be sane?_

The former director scrolled through the video feeds a few more times before leaning back in his chair, exhausted. _I'll never understand why she insists I do this. That woman has ten people who are actually willing to do it. And are paid to do it, at that._

He was about to call it a night when he saw a flash of red on the bottom right. Curious, he enlarged the video feed and rewinds it a bit. Fury watched a bit concerned as some man, whose face he couldn't see, shoot down an authorized personnel door. The man dashes inside, is gone for a few seconds before he runs back out. Fury hums thoughtfully as the man runs away, having been spotted.

What surprises him is when Wanda Maximoff starts to chase after him, but stops short to investigate the shattered door. Her hands glowing are the only source of light she has. She's saying something, but Fury has no audio feed to go by. She steps inside cautiously, and Fury hurries to find the correct video feed for the room. It takes about five minutes but he finds it.

She's glancing at a computer and she seems confused and a bit scared. Considering what Wanda Maximoff had gone through during the whole 'Ultron' mess, and the guaranteed strangeness she gets from dealing with Darcy Lewis on a daily basis, Fury considers that an impressive feat.

 _Speaking of Lewis,_ he glances to the mid-left of his laptop's screen and purses his lips in thought. Darcy is talking with Bucky Barnes and he seems to be giving her fighting tips. The two are laughing and talking and considering half the stuff Barnes has done, and the fact that he often questions Darcy's mental state, Fury isn't comforted by it.

Tapping his fingers together, Fury thinks for a moment before selecting the two video feeds. After rerouting the security feeds and looping footage, he deletes both videos he selected and hopes that she didn't see what he just did.

Of course, things don't always go how we want them, do they?

The light buzzing sounds coming from behind the laptop cause Fury to curse slightly. Reaching for his phone, his suspicions were confirmed. New message.

 _I saw that… -S.W._

Frowning, he replies: _If you have people watching what I'm doing, why don't you cut out the middleman and watch everything by yourself?_

 _It comforts me, knowing you actually pay attention to the important details. –S.W._

 _The important details, or the details you normally pay attention to?_

 _Who was that girl? The one with the red, glowing hands, I mean. –S.W._

 _You told me that it was only crucial to observe Darcy Lewis's behavior at the moment._

 _I've seen that girl hanging around Darcy quite a bit. They seem close. That could be beneficial… -S.W._

Fury didn't expect any less from her. Always observing human behavior, always taking notes on interactions between a person and the obstacles of life, always seeing where it could benefit her. Not a horrible thing to do, but not a good thing either.

 _She's unstable._

 _She's grieving. –S.W._

 _She has no guaranteed control of her powers yet._

 _All the more reason she needs guidance. –S.W._

 _The same way Darcy Lewis needs guidance?_

 _Perhaps not exactly the same… Darcy pays better attention to human interactions and notices things most people glance over. That other girl however, she seems curious… I like that. –S.W._

 _Curiosity killed the cat._

 _And satisfaction brought it back. –S.W._ Fury could all but see the woman smirking.

 _What is your point exactly?_

 _Curiosity is heavily associated with all aspects of human development, in which derives the process of learning and desire to acquire knowledge and skill. We, as a species, learn through curiosity. I need people who are curious enough to go looking for something when not given straight answers. –S.W._

 _Darcy and Wanda's behaviors might also be associated with Instant Gratification._

 _You and I both know that it isn't. –S.W._

Fury sighed. When she was right, she was right. It left a bit of an unpleasant taste in his mouth and an anxious feeling in his stomach, all the same. _So what're you getting at really?_

 _I'll overlook the deleting of footage this time around, but I want you to keep an eye on them. They're curious girls, the world needs more of them. –S.W._

 _You know, they aren't exactly the sanest of minds._ Once he sent the message, Fury paused and then sent another one as an afterthought. _Or the most conventional of thinkers._

He could practically sense the woman smirking when he received her reply. _All the better. –S.W._

He may have won have many battles, but this is one of the few Fury would ever admit to losing.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

The older figure glanced at the picture on his desk. One he had kept since his college days. It was of him and his best friend at the time. And the woman he utterly adored.

"Dennis Hix has reported back. As of May 22, 2015 at exactly 12:13:04 AM, Project Infinity is in place." The younger figure smiled. The figure tapped a few icons on her tablet and then turned it to show the older figure. "Looks like S.H.I.E.L.D isn't the only one getting a head start…"

The older figure raised a brow. "They've started looking for the Infinity Stones?"

"Mhmm. As of May 19 they've begun the hunt. That's around the time our sensors detected a type of cosmic radiation that seems to announce the Asgardians departures and arrivals." The younger figured rolled their eyes. "So, S.H.I.E.L.D and the rest of the Avengers are apparently wrapped around Asgard's thumb. Always a plus…" The last bit was drawled out sarcastically as the younger figure dropped the tablet into the older one's lap.

"Hmm," The older figure frowned thoughtfully, "did anyone spot Dennis Hix?"

"Our camera feeds say no but we've got some vocal detectors that say otherwise. We're looking into it."

"Project D-12?"

"We've been trying to increase the potency but without anyone to test it on, we're uncertain of how well it will work."

"And what about our _friends_ out west. How's the Pym Particle coming along?"

"We have plenty of time. Cross can't seem to get his head out of his ass quick enough to do anything about it. All eyes are on us…"

The older figure smirked. "Well… I think it's about time S.H.I.E.L.D meets their newest benefactor, don't you?" The younger figure smirked back in response. For once, something was actually going according to plan.

Now all they had to do was keep it that way.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"Darcy was right, he packs a punch." Wanda sighed, pressing the ice pack to her cheek. That morning, during training, Dennis had insisted he be Wanda's partner for the day (much to Darcy and Vision's confusion). Of course, Wanda had tried to refuse, but he was very insistent—and a touch intimidating when he needed to be.

Wanda knew he was only doing this as a warning. What she had seen last night solidified that, of course, she didn't know what she saw _exactly_. She just knew Dennis had installed something called _'Project Infinity'_ onto one computer.

Whatever it was, it was important enough to him to give her a warning/beating. She had never felt this sore since she left HYDRA.

Vision frowned sympathetically. "It does seem rather odd of him to train so… intensely with you and Darcy in the same week."

"With Darcy, he was just being a dick. With me… _well_ ,"

"Wanda, is there something you're not telling me or Darcy?"

The witch glanced at the ground awkwardly. She had tried to tell Darcy earlier that day, but she had left already. She also tried to tell Vision, but Dennis had dragged her away before she could. Now she had a bruised face, split lip, and sore muscles. Wonderful day, really.

"Wanda, is everything alright? You seem worried." Bless Vision, always so concerned about her and everyone else's well-being. There needed to be more people like him in the world.

Glancing around, Wanda leaned in close and whispered "I saw something last night."

"And over to the left is the training area. Well, the agent training area. The Avengers have their own." Maria Hill's voice carried down from the hallway, startling the two Avengers.

"Fascinating," a new, male voice observed, "and it took you guys how long to build all of this?"

"Technically, we were just adding on to it. But it took us roughly two weeks. Oh, here are a couple Avengers now." Maria smiled as she approached Wanda and Vision.

"Ms. Maximoff, Vision, I'd like you to meet Charles Hix and Trisha Hix, his daughter. They run Hix Industries in Chicago." Maria gestured to an older man with brown hair and beard, deep blue eyes and a young girl with blonde hair pulled into a bun atop her head (not one hair out of place, Wanda noticed) and a pristine white lab coat.

"It's an honor to meet you," Trisha beamed. Holding out her hand for them to shake. Wanda didn't mean too, really she didn't, sometimes people's thoughts were just too loud. You couldn't help but hear them.

She was able to hear Trisha's wonderment of the place, awe of meeting her and Vision, and a sort of scientific curiosity that she only ever had seen in Jane before. Wanda smiled a bit, despite the bag of ice she was pressing to her cheek. "It's nice to meet you as well."

Vision extended his hand to Hix. "My name is Vision, nice to meet you."

Instead of shaking the android's hand, Hix placed a business card in his hand. As Vision glanced at it, confused, Hix smirked. "Pleasure to meet you as well, Vision. My business number is on there, you should give me a call sometime. I've heard about your abilities and I'm interested to see how they work."

As Trisha sent her father a warning look, Wanda glanced at him. Admittedly, Wanda was curious, but she had promised Vision, Darcy, the other Avengers, and basically S.H.I.E.L.D that she wouldn't look inside a person's head without permission.

But again, sometimes a person's thoughts are just too loud not to hear.

By listening for a total of fifteen seconds, Wanda realized that Hix was slightly unstable. There was this obsession with the mind, control and some woman named Elisa Foft.

"So, what brings you both to S.H.I.E.L.D?" Vision asked, crumbling the business card in his hand in a rather discrete manner.

"Hix Industries is our new weapons benefactor." Maria supplied politely.

"Weapons benefactor?" Wanda questioned. "Isn't that what Stark is?"

Hix chuckled. "Stark builds toy soldiers, I build the future." Vision and Wanda exchanged unimpressed glances. _If I had a nickel for everytime I heard that._

"We've been working on a few new projects." Trisha added, grinning happily. "Daddy thinks there the next big thing in modern warfare."

"What is it?" Wanda asked.

Hix smiled somewhat secretively at the two Avengers. "Imagine, a perfect army. One without the flaws of humanity."

"Oh, like machines?" Vision questioned.

"No. _Ultron_ was a machine."

"So… more androids?"

"Not exactly. My plan is to create a serum. One that can finally perfect humanity." Hix smiled wistfully as a glint appeared in his eyes. "Imagine it; a soldier bravely charging into battle because he feels no fear, a sniper never missing a shot because there are no emotions to cloud his thinking… just pure perfection at its finest."

Wanda frowned. "Um… but what about the soldier and sniper themselves? Wouldn't this serum take away their freedom as an individual person?"

"It wouldn't last forever." Trisha explained. "Just long enough for them to get the job done, and then they'd be back to normal."

Wanda still isn't satisfied with the answer. In fact, she feels downright disturbed. What Hix is talking about is taking away a person's individual freedom. Their right to think and act of their own will. This serum sounds like someone sitting behind a screen and punching in a bunch of commands for the soldiers to perform like an army of mindless robots.

A low buzzing makes them all jump a bit. Maria frowns and digs her phone out of her pocket. After glancing at it a minute, she stuffs it back into her pocket again. "There's an issue in Sector 3. Minor issue, but I'm sorry Mr. Hix, I'm going to have to cut the tour short."

"Oh that's quite alright." Trisha says in place of her father. "This was just a business meeting after all." The woman brings out her own phone and frowns. "Besides, the experimental serums aren't due to arrive for another few days. We'll just come back then…"

"Or," Hix speaks up, "perhaps there is someone else who could continue the tour?"

Maria nods and then glances at the two Avengers. "Would one of you like to continue the tour? There is an Avengers' meeting going on right now but I can tell Steve you guys were doing me a favor."

Once again (accidentally!) hearing Hix's thoughts take a rather disturbing turn, Wanda spoke up. "I can show them around."

Vision frowned worriedly. "Are you sure? You did sustain a rather… significant injury…"

Remembering the Ice Pack pressed against her cheek, Wanda blushed, a bit embarrassed. But nodded her head. "I'll be fine."

Handing the Ice Pack to the android, the witch felt her face grow hotter when Hix and Maria winced at her bruises and Trisha shook her head sympathetically, saying "That's going to hurt in the morning."

Wanda shifted from one foot to another, awkwardly. "I was not allowed to use my powers, alright? Let's start the rest of the tour. I'll catch up with you later, Vizh."

The android, though reluctant to leave his friend, nods and follows Maria as she walks away. Once Wanda has led Hix and Trisha through the training area, cafeteria, and has shown them Dr. Cho's lab (read: lab door), Trisha shyly asks "Um… how did you get that bruise, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Training. The guy as a good swing on him."

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"Maybe if we find a way to strengthen the amygdala…?" Ian tiredly suggested.

"Um… that might work, but are we sure it deals with long-term memory? Cause that's what we're dealing with…" Darcy says, blinking sleepily at her notes.

"Why did you and Wanda agree to do this again?" Ian has now rested his head on the desk, looking close to sleep. Darcy can't say she isn't far behind.

"We got Stark'd."

"I am so sorry."

"So are we…"

She and Ian have been up since seven-thirty in the mourning trying to figure out the neurological recognizer. True, Darcy had to leave for her training earlier that day, but that didn't mean she was any less exhausted than Ian was. She had given him permission to go back to the apartment and get some sleep, but either he didn't nap or it wasn't a very restful sleep.

"Ian, Ian, babe, focus." Darcy gently shakes his shoulder and, with a groan that she can sympathize with, Ian lifts his head off the desk. "Ok, what we really need to do is focus on how a memory gets from one place to another and somehow… I dunno, strengthen it, I guess?"

"What you might want to look into are the neural pathways." A new, high and somewhat raspy voice announced. Darcy and Ian turned to find a pretty, short-brown haired girl in a tight purple _David Bowie_ t-shirt, and three earrings in her right ear leaning against the far wall. "If you can find a way to strengthen them, then the passage of memories should be safe.

Ian was looking at the girl, wide-eyed, when Darcy smiled politely. "Hi… Um, thanks for the suggestion but, who are you?"

The girl smirked and practically waltzed over to where Darcy was, offering her hand for the brunette to shake. "I'm Rosie Hernandez. My boss—well, my boss and his daughter who is basically my other boss—are visiting here today. I was supposed to stay with them, but I got bored and started to wander."

"Who're your bosses?" Darcy asks, starting to feel a bit angry at how blatantly Ian is checking this girl out right in front of her.

"Charles and Trisha Hix, from Hix Industries." Upon noticing the blank look Darcy gave her, Rosie sighed. "They haven't exactly been in the media for the past two… three… fifteen years."

"What does Hix Industries do, exactly?"

"You want the brochure answer or the truthful answer?"

"Is there a difference?"

" _Brochure answer_ : Hix Industries specializes in computer based technology that will take mankind to the next level and help America get out of the Middle East. _Truthful Answer_ : Hix Industries wants to see how close they can get humanity to resemble robots without actually dipping them in a bat of molted metal and installing flash drives in their brains."

Darcy cracks a tired, yet amused smile. "I'm sensing you don't like your job. Understandable, two-thirds of us in this room are Americans."

Rosie's smirk was quickly replaced by a scowl. "It's not that I—a woman with two PhD's in neurology and psychology—resent my job as a secretary. It's more like I have a strong, passionate dislike for the unstable, obsessive man I work for."

Darcy was taken aback. She glanced at Ian, just as taken back by the venom in Rosie's words as his girlfriend was. "Oh… ok…"

Rosie huffed out a breath before glancing at Darcy's notebook curiously. "So, what's with all the brain and memory talk?"

"Oh, I and my friend, Wanda, have sort of taken on this project a friend of ours started." Darcy shrugged. "Ian was just helping me."

"Yeah," Ian smiles a bit too enthusiastically for Darcy's liking as he makes his way over to Rosie, "It's a pretty big deal, this experiment that we're doing here…" Ian blushes stupidly as Rosie raises a brow.

Darcy smiles at him threateningly. "Yeah. Ian, _my boyfriend_ , was helping me."

Ian just seemed to remember the whole 'boyfriend' thing himself, and thus sheepishly smiled at Rosie before backing away a couple steps. Though, he seemed to only do so out of fear of Darcy's wrath.

Rosie smiled at Ian, if the woman was flirting with him, Darcy couldn't tell, and made her way over to the desk and gestured to the notebook. "May I? The project fascinates me."

Darcy raises a brow. "I'm not sure."

"Oh, let her, love. What harm could it do?" Darcy want to scream at Ian but settles for glaring at him as she reluctantly hands over the notebook. Rosie flips through the first few pages (complimenting the artist of the little BMO drawings on the side—Darcy makes a mental note to tell Wanda about the whole ordeal) and hums thoughtfully, face hard to read.

When the woman pauses on a certain page, looking thoroughly surprised, Darcy starts to get worried. However, Rosie's next words throw both her and Ian for a loop. "Y'know, Hix is working on something similar to this at the moment."

Darcy blinks at the woman, surprised. "He's what now?"

"Yeah. He and someone else are doing it personally." Rosie hands the notebook back to Darcy, shrugging. "He keeps saying that it will improve modern warfare, personally, I think he's bluffing."

Ian glances at the notebook before fixing Darcy with a curious look. "I thought Tony told you and Wanda this was something entirely new, something Bruce hadn't even told S.H.I.E.L.D."

"I… I thought it was…" Darcy stared at her notebook. Was what Rosie saying true? Had she and Wanda just wasted two weeks on something that a company had been working on for God-knows-how many years?

"It's not exactly the same." Rosie said after a while. "Same basic idea and principle, different purpose and function."

The two others in the room glanced at Rosie, confused. "Different purpose and function? What's that supposed to mean?"

Rosie narrowed her eyes at them warily, as if she suddenly couldn't trust them. Darcy found this a bit odd, considering she was the one who waltzed in and asked to look at her notebook.

Finally, after about two minutes of silent debating, Rosie asked "You guys know _anything_ about Hix?"

"Apart from the stuff you just told us… no." Ian shook his head. _And even that seemed like faulty information,_ he thought.

Glancing at the clock, Rosie sighed. "I've gotta go catch up with Hix. As much as I hate him and everything he stands for and everything he does to get what he wants, he's my ride home." She reached over and grabbed an unused sheet of paper and pen and scribbled something down. "You two should skype me sometime, like, maybe tomorrow? I've put my email address, Gmail address, skype name, all that good stuff basically. I've got some information you might be interested in."

After Rosie handed Ian her information, she practically sashayed out the room.

Darcy glared at her retreating form suspiciously. _There's just something about that girl I don't trust…_

"Hey, that girl seem off to you?"

Ian glanced at the information sheet, intrigued, before shaking his head. "No, not really."

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Loki looked at his reflection on the elevator's glass. The metal is not glass, it is not a mirror, and so his reflection looks a bit hazy, blurred.

They're sending him back to the vibranium mine. He couldn't get all of it before his magic was drained the other day. _Joy…_

The elevator door opens and the guards behind him and on his sides start to move before he does. Loki bites the inside of his cheek to hold back the snarl building up in his throat. The car they use to usher him to and fro outside the base comes into view. The urge to roll his eyes is great, yet through the great self-restraint he is known for, Loki resists the urge.

Loki was shoved into the car, swallowing the growl as he sat down, and waited for Darcy Lewis to appear. He didn't have to wait long, apparently. The God didn't see her coming, no. He heard an older male voice call out "Elisa!" and mere curiosity made him glance out the window.

Darcy Lewis stood a few feet away from the car, glancing around in surprise before glancing behind her when the voice called out "Elisa Foft, is that you?"

A man with brown hair and beard all but sprinted up to Darcy and skidded to a stop and into her personal space. The girl stepped back, surprised. The man, a bit older than some of the people Loki had seen around here, was panting when he looked up at her again. He seemed almost disappointed when he said "You're not Elisa Foft… are you?"

Darcy shook her head, Loki was a bit surprised himself that Darcy Lewis knew who the man was referring too. "That seems pretty impossible… for a number of reasons actually."

"You look so much like her… The hair, the nose, the mouth, the walk… Not the eyes though…"

Blushing, embarrassed, the girl took a step-back as she laughed uncertainly. "Yeah, that's what everyone says. 'Look like my mom, but got my dad's eyes' and all…"

The older man balks and raises a somewhat shaky finger at Darcy. "You… You're Elisa Foft's daughter?"

Darcy eyes him and nods slowly. "Yeah, her youngest."

" _Youngest_?"

"I have an older brother…"

The man looks shocked and a bit… anguished as Wanda Maximoff and a young, blonde girl who bared some resemblance to the older man run up to his side. "Mr. Hix, you shouldn't run off like that. But I am impressed… Even I can't run that fast." Wanda Maximoff huffs out a breath, nodding 'hello' to Darcy Lewis.

"Daddy, what was that all about?"

"I thought I saw…" Mr. Hix glances at his daughter and, noticing her questioning look, shakes his head. "Never mind."

"Wait," Darcy starts, " _you're_ Charles Hix?" The man nods and Darcy turns to the blonde. "And you're Trisha Hix?"

"Yeah, how'd you guess?"

"I, uh, ran into your secretary on the way here. She was telling me what unrecognized geniuses you guys were and all that shit…" Loki raises a brow. _She lied. Why would she lie?_

"Oh, you ran into Ms. Hernandez," Mr. Hix suddenly seems uninterested in the conversation.

Wanda frowns at the man, before gesturing tiredly to Darcy. "Mr. and Miss Hix, this is Darcy Lewis. She's the Avenger's assistant of sorts."

Mr. Hix, once uninterested, now seems shocked and anguished all over again, and Loki notices a sort of tenseness in his jaw that suggests a kind of anger. " _Lewis_?" He questions Darcy harshly.

Surprised, she nods.

"As in… _Devin Lewis_?"

Darcy's eyes grow to a comically large size. "You knew _both_ of my parents?!"

Trisha laughs nervously, trying to break the ice. "Small world, huh?"

"We went to college together." Hix says, sizing her up. "How is your mother these days?"

Darcy and Wanda exchange quick glances before Darcy actually answers. "Good… She owns a bakery and helps out with the High School Drama department."

"That's good… And your father?"

A slight shadow crosses her face and sky-blue eyes hardened to cold steel as she replies. "Dead."

Hix, for what it's worth, seems surprised… But also, strangely enough, relieved. "Oh, is he?"

"Yeah… It was a while ago, so…"

"How long ago?"

Darcy's face turns red in anger just as Trisha steps in between her father and the girl. "Ok, well. It was _very_ nice to meet you Miss Lewis. I'm sure Miss Maximoff will fill you in on the details of what all this is later, but…" Trisha glances nervously at Wanda, who merely buries her face into her hand and mumbles something in her native tongue that Loki can only assumes means she is embarassed. The blonde glares reproaching at her father, grinding out "We need to go find Rosie. Our flight leaves soon. Miss Maximoff, could you please show us back to the main building?"

"Yes!" Wanda covers up her hasty answer with a cough, wanting to get away from the awkward situation as quick as possible. "I'll see you later, Darcy."

Darcy nods and makes a sound of approval as she slowly backs away from the three. Or, more specifically, Hix's odd, unabashed stare.

All but launching into the car, Darcy quickly buckles up and signals to the driver to _go_. Loki leans back and watches the odd, little mortal girl as her face suddenly twist into one of confusion and she glances back, staring at the retreating form of Wanda Maximoff and Charles and Trisha Hix.

Once out of the garage, Darcy slinks into her seat and sighs heavily. Glancing up at him, she frowns. "You heard and saw the whole thing, didn't you?"

"I did," Loki answers truthfully.

"And did you find that Hix guy creepy, or was it just me?"

Loki offers no answer, merely stares out the window. But as she reluctantly goes to her beloved portable for entertainment, he thinks _He did seem a tad off, to say the least_.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 **Short chapter is short but it's here!**

 **Ok, won't be able to update for a couple more weeks because of mid-terms and spring musical stuff. But I'll try!**

 **Ok, hope you guys enjoy, review, and I'll see you later!**


	15. 14: I'm not jealous

**Alright, next chapter. Not much too really say, just I hope you guys enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: *takes a deep breath and then grabs a megaphone* Nope! Also,** _ **All Warmed up Inside**_ **and** _ **I'm Just Your Problem**_ **belong to Rebecca Sugar, Pendleton Ward, Olivia Olsen, and Probably John DiMaggio**

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

It was amusing, Loki found, to watch the many emotions flit about Darcy Lewis's face. Annoyance, anger, frustration, discomfort, if he weren't in the situation he was in now, the God might have actually laughed at it.

The way she tapped her fingers against her arms, the amount of times she shifted her gaze from out the window to her beloved portable, the way she scrunched up her nose and pursed her lips in an almost pout was almost cute

 _Wait, what?_ Loki blinked. He glanced at Darcy Lewis again and frowned. _She is mortal, a human. She is not cute or, at the very least, even appealing._ Well, that's what he told himself.

When the girl huffed out an annoyed breath, Loki couldn't help himself. "And what could possibly be troubling such a small, young mind such as yours Miss Lewis?"

Blue eyes narrowed in his direction and Loki felt something stir in the pit of his stomach, but he easily shoved it to the side. "He speaks," she said after a moment of hesitation, sarcasm dripping from her pretty little mouth ( _Not that she is even pretty, not even appealing…_ ), "I feel honored…"

Ignoring the urge to reply _'As you should'_ , the God continues. "What insignificant, miniscule problem could plague such an inexperienced, pathetic brain?"

Jaw tightened, she replies "Right now, you mean? Starting to wonder if Electabuzz will have the same effect on you as my taser did Thor." She smiles a bit too sweetly at him and adds, "Now, that I would enjoy seeing."

"Your puny mortal weapon would bare me no ill will. I am—"

" _A God_. You know, for someone who keeps claiming he's a God, you sure don't act like one."

He frowns. "Oh?"

"Yeah."

"And how would you know how a God is supposed to act?"

"My fondness for mythology growing up, the countless amount of time I spent in the library reading up on nothing but ancient myths and legends, the fact that I had to teach one how to use a toaster; take your pick, Rudolph."

Ignoring the jab, he sneered. "I hardly think being able to use a _toaster_ constitutes Godly behavior, as you so put."

"It's not the fact that he knows how to use a _floofin' toaster_ —though, in my opinion, that should be considered—it's the fact that Thor actually helps humanity instead of trying to destroy the whole damn universe at every freaking turn!"

Loki glared at the girl. "Believe it or not, Miss Lewis, but I do not intend to destroy the entire Nine Realms at _'every freaking turn'_ , as you so eloquently stated."

"Oh really." Darcy set her iPod down and cast him a sardonic look. "So, let's do a quick math check. Not only did you trick your brother into getting kicked out of Asgard, you sent a flaming, robot of doom and levelled a small town, destroyed a S.H.I.E.L.D base, caused mass panic in Germany, killed eighty people in two days, blew up New York, and let's not forget your _crowning moment_ —pun very much intended—you impersonated Odin while he was in a coma for two years!" With each reminder of his past sins, Darcy would count them off on her fingers and Loki sneered at her the entire time. "Thor helps people, Sif helps people, the Warriors Three help people and what do you do? You pull overly complicated schemes that end up blowing up in your face. You don't care about humanity, you don't help humanity, and you being here is just punishment for you, and torture for everyone else here."

She glanced back out the window, turning to her portable once more. Thinking the conversation was done.

Loki, however, could not let one thing go. "Help humanity? _Help humanity?_ You are a doomed race. Your inevitable demise will only come from your own self-destruction."

"You think there's no hope for us?" Darcy asked, already knowing his answer. "You don't think anyone could help us?"

"Help you?" Loki scoffed. "You're not worth saving."

Darcy actually glanced up at Loki this time. Her eyes betraying nothing but ice coldness. "Then why did you save me?"

Loki had no response. He merely watched as she glanced out the window, her finger tapping along to the beat of whatever music she was listening to.

They didn't talk to each other for the rest of the day. Both had too much on their mind. Loki, a bit surprised that this young mortal had bested him in a verbal spar. Darcy, reeling from the fact that she just admitted (mostly to herself but also technically to him) that Loki had saved her.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

' _A serenade! That Finn wrote, for m'lady.' Jake the Dog bowed as he began to strum the Fire Guitar._

' _Ooh,' Flame Princess clapped in admiration._

" _Oh, Flame Princess, I think you're rad. I really wanna kiss you... right in front of your dad!"_

Granted, Darcy had seen this episode of _Adventure Time_ , she'd have to say, three thousand times since its debut almost a two years ago. And that was the minimum amount of times she's guessing.

Yet, there was just the appeal of the episode. Not only to the music, but the story and characters as well. Darcy was the first to admit that she thought the show was weird when it first came out, but after a few years, she really began to appreciate the stories they told and the characters they introduced. Case in point, _Incendium_ and the introduction of Flame Princess.

Not to mention, John DiMaggio singing and voicing as Jake the Dog was icing on the cake.

"' _Cause I think you're great. I wanna be your mate, or maybe go on a date? 'Cause it feels like there's a fire inside my body, like there's a fire inside my heart._ _"_

Smiling, Darcy quietly sang along with the last few measures of the song.

" _It's like this fire is gonna consume me… if I keep waiting for this thing to start. Oh I feel all warmed up inside… I feel all warmed up inside… I feel all warmed_ _up insi-i-de... i-i-ide._ _"_

Darcy snuggled deeper into the couch as Flame Princess sighed in admiration at the song "Prince Finn" wrote for her. Just as Flame King was calling Jake out for the 'disgusting' _"Fire inside my body"_ line, Ian practically bolted into the room. Only to slow down once he realized his girlfriend was sitting on the couch.

Trying, and failing, to appear cool and casual, Ian raised a brow and gestured to the TV. " _Adventure Time_? Again?"

"You can never have too much of a great thing." Darcy smirked, ignoring how on-edge her boyfriend seemed.

"Haven't you seen this episode, like, twenty times already?"

"It's probably more like three thousand, but what's your point?"

Ian laughed and rolled his eyes fondly. "You and your shows these days, love, it's cute. Albeit silly, but cute."

"Hey, media nowadays has gotten way better than it has been in the past. I mean; _Gravity Falls_ , _The Hunger Games_ , _Star vs. The Forces of Evil_ , _Divergent_ the book series, _Over the Garden Wall, Steven Universe_ , _Star Wars_ , and _Adventure Time_. I might as well sell my soul to them right now!"

"Considering the amount of T-shirts, hats, other clothes, backpacks, DVD's, and other merchandise you have stuffed in your half of the closet, I'd say you already have."

Darcy shoved him playfully, but kissed him on the cheek nonetheless. Pulling back, Darcy smiled. "What's up?"

"Well… You see, there's something I need to show you in the bedroom…"

"Wow. Usually you come up with better lines than that if you wanna get in my pants." Darcy teased, chuckling at Ian's blush.

"No, no… Not that. It's well, um… maybe it'd be better if I show you."

Ian began to drag her towards the bedroom, ignoring her protests of "But… But _Adventure Time_!" as he did so.

Darcy frowned as Ian closed the door to their room, gesturing for her to have a seat on the bed next to the laptop. "Ok, what's so important that you had to drag me away from TV? It's my day off, and I plan on wasting it wisely."

" _Don't worry, Darcy. You can go back to your TV shows soon enough."_

Eyes widened, Darcy pulled the laptop to her, finding that Ian had apparently set up a video chat.

"Hey, I remember you. Aren't you that Hernandez girl? Um, Daisy, right?"

" _Rosie, actually."_ The Latina deadpanned. She was sitting in a dimly light room. The only light coming from a low-lit lamp that looked like it was placed behind her computer.

Darcy raised a brow. "Oh. So, what's up?"

" _Ian and I have been talking and—"_

"Wait, you and Ian?" The Brit had the decency to look sheepish as Darcy narrowed her eyes in his direction. "How long have you two been talking?"

" _Um, since yesterday actually. On and off, though."_ Rosie shrugged nonchalantly.

"Since yesterday?" Darcy phrased it as an innocent question, but the look in her eyes was downright murderous.

" _That doesn't bother you, does it?"_ Rosie asked, not wanting to intrude. Then again, Ian had said Darcy wouldn't mind.

"What, no? No, of course not!" _Why would I be bothered by a very pretty girl flirting with my boyfriend without my knowledge?_ "So what have you two been talking about, since _yesterday_ that you didn't think to talk to me about until now?"

"Well, I, we—um, _Rosie_ here has something to show you!" Ian stammered. Pressing himself into the wall at the head of the bed.

"Show me? Show me what?"

" _Yeah."_ There was a rustling sound, like Rosie was adjusting her camera. _"Check this out."_ Darcy leaned towards the screen and squinted.

"Um, could you maybe zoom in a little more or something? There's a weird glare and I can't really see it…"

Rosie glanced at the papers she held up before smiling back at Darcy sheepishly. _"Whoops, heh, give me a second."_ The Latina did a bit more adjusting with her camera and hit a few computer keys before Darcy was finally able to see what the papers actually said. _"Can you see it now?"_

"Um, yeah, I can actually." Darcy skimmed the paper before her eyes widened. "' _ **Serum A-04**_ test failed; Subject could not focus on mission and briefly forgot his own name, Serum disposed of. _**Serum A-07**_ test failed; Subject blacked out and received odd visions and later had to be revived, study later to be conducted. _**Serum A-10**_ test failed; Subject exposed to sudden terror flashes, Serum disposed of. _**Serum A-12**_ test successful; Subject ready for field mission…' Um, what am I looking at here?"

Ian, cautiously, sat down next to Darcy. "Rosie found these in Hix's personal lab. Remember, Rosie said he was working on something similar to what you and Wanda were working on."

"I remember, it's just none of this sounds like what Wanda and I were working on at all."

" _Exactly."_ Rosie's jaw tightens. _"And listen to this, 'Due to_ _ **Serum A-12**_ _'s success, completed experiment to be marketed'."_

"Marketed? To who?"

" _I did some digging, and I may or may not have broken a few international laws by doing so, but I found out that someone named_ _Ophelia Sarkissian is interested in buying them."_

"Who's Ophelia what's-her-name?"

" _That I'm stumped on. All I know is that she runs some type of organization, but I got nothing else."_

"I still don't see what the big deal is here."

"Rosie explained that to me. Serum A-12 is the exact opposite of the neurological recognizer." Ian said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

" _It means, Serum A-12 tears down a person's memory. It can make a person forget everything about themselves except basic combat skills, how to fire a gun, and whatever else Hix programmed this thing to do…"_ Rosie sneered, clenching her fists tighter. _"It can make a person forget all of their morals, just so Hix can get the job done."_

Unbidden, Darcy's thoughts went to Bucky. _I didn't want to hurt you or anyone. The fact that I might've killed you, without remembering that I did it…_ Bucky's voice echoed. "Again, what's the big deal here?"

" _I'm willing to bet anything this Ophelia lady is going to use that serum in the same way Hix did for his experiments. She's going to take control of people's minds and Hix is going to help her!"_

"What does that have to do with us?"

"Rosie has a plan." Ian smiled excitedly.

"A plan?"

" _Listen, Hix can't sell this serum until he tests it on a larger group of people to see if it works. Now, if you two can help me get in there and destroy the serums and all the research surrounding it, Hix will have nothing and the sale will fall through."_

Darcy frowned, worriedly. _Something doesn't feel right, here._ Remembering Rosie's venom towards Hix, she asked, "How would you even get to his personal lab?"

" _Let's just say I have someone on the inside…"_

"And who might that someone be?"

" _I'm afraid I can't share that information."_

"Can't or don't want to?"

"Darcy…" Ian placed a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder to calm her down.

" _I don't think my inside person is that vital of information to you."_

"And I think that if you're asking two S.H.I.E.L.D employees to sneak in and steal something from a S.H.I.E.L.D benefactor, I think you ought to be providing all the information you have!" Darcy snapped. "In fact, why don't you just call Coulson yourself and let him know? Cut out the middle man."

" _Coulson wouldn't believe a damn word I said, and you know it!"_

"No, I don't actually. I've known you for twelve hours, and that's still a stretch."

" _Look, I don't have time to argue," Rosie glared, "are you two in or not?"_

"Yes," "No!" Darcy and Ian exchanged surprised glances before Darcy narrowed her eyes at him.

" _Um… Could I get a more definite answer or…?"_

Darcy glared at the Latina on the screen. "We'll call you with our answer later." She slammed the laptop's screen down, before standing up and scowling at Ian.

"Yes? _Yes?_ You want to help her with her crazy plan?!"

"It's not that crazy."

"She's wants us to commit a crime, Ian! Look, maybe she told you more information when you were video chatting her—which brings up another question, why didn't you tell me you were video chatting with Rosie?!"

"Oh, so I have to run _everything_ by you now?"

"No, but if I remember correctly, Rosie said we should both chat with her some time."

"She handed her information to me!"

"Because she was flirting with you, you floofin'-meat-bag!"

"Oh, so when a pretty girl talks to me, _I'm_ at fault?"

"That's not the—ugh! Look, I don't trust Rosie, ok? Something about her seems, fishy. And her plan seems pretty sketchy…"

"Don't you think you're being a bit closed-minded?"

"'Closed-minded' isn't exactly a word I would use to describe someone who just said no to help rob a benefactor to the U.S Government!"

"Well, maybe if you weren't acting like a jealous little girl, you would see that this plan is actually helpful to humanity!"

Darcy looked at Ian, appalled. _Jealous little girl, jealous little girl, jealous little girl…_

"Get out,"

"What?" Ian asked, confused.

"Get out." Darcy pointed to the door, tears stinging her eyes. _Jealous little girl, jealous little girl…_

"Love—"

 _Jealous little girl, jealous little girl, jealous little girl, jealous little girl, jealous little girl…_ "Get out!" Darcy shouted, slapping him on the arm before grabbing her pillow and smacking him roughly upside the head. _Jealous little girl, jealous little girl…_

"Ow!"

"Get out get out get out get out get out _get out_!" Darcy shrieked as she chased Ian out of the apartment, the young man barely had time to pull on his jacket and grab some shoes before Darcy chucked the pillow at his head.

Ian screamed one last profanity at her before slamming the door behind him. Darcy screamed back at him through the door, pounding her fist on the oak for good measure. After he was gone, all was silent except for Darcy's panting. Her face felt hot with anger and one or two tears were streaming down her cheeks. Darcy was thankful no one else was in the apartment at the time.

" _La da da da da… I'm gonna bury you in the ground... La da da da da… I'm gonna bury you in my sound. I'm gonna drink the red, from your pretty pink face, I'm gonna—"_

' _Marceline, that's too distasteful!' Princess Bubblegum scolded_

Darcy glanced at the TV she left on. The episode she had been watching had ended and another one had started. She remembered this one, but couldn't think of the episode's name.

' _Oh, you don't like that?' Marceline questioned. 'Or do you just not like me?!'_

 _The Vampire Queen flew to the top of the door before strumming on her guitar again and starting the song anew. "_ _Sorry I don't treat you like a goddess, is that what you want me to do? Sorry I don't treat you like you're perfect, like all your little loyal subjects do."_

Darcy clenched her fists and rested her forehead against the door, tears streaming down her face.

" _Sorry I'm not made of sugar, am I not sweet enough for you? Is that why you always avoid me? That must be such an inconvenience to you!"_

A choked sob escaped Darcy as Olivia Olson's voice filled the room. Darcy shook her head as another sob came out of her. She slid to the ground, back pressed against door.

" _Well, I'm just your problem… I'm just your problem. It's like I'm not even a person, am I? I'm just your problem…"_

Hugging her knees to herself, Darcy let sob after sob wrack her body. Shaking her head, Darcy choked out "I'm not jealous…"

" _Well, I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I shouldn't have to justify what I do. I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I shouldn't have to prove anything to you! I'm sorry that I exist—"_

' _It's working, look at the door!' Finn announced happily. Noticing all the mouths on the door were all smiling and glowing happily, due to Marceline's song._

"— _I forget what landed me on your black list."_

"I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous…" Darcy wasn't sure if she was muttering the truth or just trying (and failing) to reassure herself.

" _But I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I shouldn't have to be the one that makes up with you! So, why do I want to? Why do I want to? To... bury you in the ground... and drink the blood from your... UGH!"_

"I'm not jealous…" Darcy sobbed. Anger and sadness coloring her voice.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

" _Getting me some lunch, doo-doo-doo-doo-dooo…_ " Wanda sang to herself as she made her way to the cafeteria.

Training had gone well, she had been able to levitate into the air for a solid fifteen minutes (a new personal best), and had an hour to kill before she met up with Darcy and discussed ideas for the neurological recognizer.

All in all, Wanda had a lovely, normal day where nothing interesting or exciting happened whatsoever…

"Hey!" Wanda turned and smiled a bit as a blonde girl ran up to her. "I remember you from yesterday. Wanda, right? You showed me and my dad around…"

"Oh right, you're that Hix girl. Um, Trisha, right?"

"Yeah," Trisha nodded, "it's nice to see you again."

Wanda hummed as she picked up a tray and headed over to the kitchen window to be served. "Likewise. What're you doing here, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Oh, my dad got caught up in some dumb business-y type meeting. So he sent me here to look over the installation of a new computer software." Trisha rolled her eyes at the mention of 'computer software' as she picked up her own tray and followed Wanda. "It's _so boring_. I just spent the past hour playing _Crossy Road_ on my phone. Thank God we hit a bump in the road, or I'd never be able to go to lunch."

Wanda laughed, "Beats trying to hover in the air while two idiots hurl foam balls at you."

The two girls shared a laugh as Wanda started to dish up. Today's special was chicken in cream of mushroom gravy with a yellow rice side. Wanda added an apple and _Diet Coke_ to her tray. "Any recommendations for a vegetarian?"

Wanda pointed towards a fridge at the end of the line. "There's some really good Apple Pecan Salad in there. Plus, the fruit in the lines is always pretty fresh." Trisha hummed happily as she picked out a small water bottle and a fruit cup before heading to the end of the line.

After picking up the tab on both lunches, Wanda led Trisha to a nearby table. "So, what's this new software that's being installed?"

"Eh, nothing out of the ordinary. It just automatically syncs all files to every computer connected to the system and prevents outside threats from hacking in and taking whatever information they came looking for. Also it gives all the computers a one-hundred-and-twenty-two percent increase in internet speed."

"That sounds incredible!"

"I guess so." Trisha shrugged, taking a bit of her salad. "My dad coded the original thing back in college and I updated the system in elementary school."

"Whoa, so you're like a technical wonder child?" Wanda asked around a mouthful of chicken.

"I guess I could be considered one. My dad's old experiments just gave me something to focus on after my mom died."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It was like, fifteen years ago. I barley remember her…"

"How she die?"

"Complications due to child birth."

"Oh…"

"It's funny, I didn't even know she was pregnant at the time."

"Weird."

The two finished eating and talked for another hour about things that interested them. Favorite movies, jobs, past experiences, anything that came to their minds.

"Hey, is there anything to do around here that _doesn't_ involve staring at a blue screen for the next two hours?"

Wanda smirked teasingly, "Well, there is this fun computer game…" Trisha tossed a crouton at the witch and laughed. "Joking, joking. I would sneak you into Sam and Rhodey's practice so we could hurl foam balls at them for payback for my practice, but I can't. I've got to go help my friend with an experiment."

"Experiment? I'm intrigued…"

Wanda shrugged. "It's nothing much. Darcy and I picked it up after our friend… um... quit the team…"

"What's the experiment?"

"It's a neurological recognizer. Something that will help people remember certain facts, stuff like that."

"Sounds amazing!"

"It is. It's just me and my friend hit a sort of road block on it."

"What is it?"

"Neither of us are scientists and we have no idea what we're doing." Wanda sighed. "Guess we'll never finish the experiment."

Trisha frowned as Wanda idly twirled her fork with her powers before a smile lit up her face. "I could help you."

"Really?"

"Yeah! Before I dropped out of college to help my dad with the company, I was studying to become a Neurosurgeon and Neuropsychologist. I literally know everything there is to know about the brain."

"Wait, you'd help me and Darcy with this?"

"Sure! I'd be glad to help."

"Hmm, it would be nice to have an expert on this sort of thing help out… Alright, you're in."

"Great. Here, give me your phone real quick." Wanda handed her new phone over. She raised a brow as Trisha pulled out a stylus and made a few quick tapping motions before taking a selfie and handing her phone back. "I just added in my Gmail, my email, my work phone, cell phone, and home phone number. Just hit me up whenever you have a problem. I also put my Skype address in there too for good measure."

Wanda smiled. "You are amazing. Seriously, I can't thank you enough!"

Trisha shrugged and smiled calmly. "All in a day's work."

Just then, Dennis walked by, his lunch tray full of chips sandwiches and a _Pepsi_. Dennis scowled at Trisha. "Nerd-ling."

"Wannabe-plumber."

Wanda raised a brow. "What was that about?"

"Sibling rivalry."

" _Sibling_?!"

"Yeah. Twin brother."

"You're twins?"

"Yeah. He's older by, like, five minutes but he never lets me live it down."

"You're twins?" Wanda repeatedly dumbly.

"You ok there?"

"I just can't believe… you two… _twins_?!"

"What's so hard to believe about it?"

"You're just so," Wanda made an angelic face, "and he's so," she then twisted her face into a monstrous one.

"You're horrible!" Trisha laughed and shoved Wanda playfully. The two laughed about Wanda's joke as they carried their trays over to the slot where they were to be washed before walking out of the cafeteria.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Ian bit the inside of his lip as his laptop booted up. _I can't believe she kicked me out,_ he thought _, it's not like I deserved it or anything._

The young brit was crashing on a friend from the IT department's couch for the time being. Said friend had gone to bed nearly an hour ago, and advised Ian to do the same. Ian had pretended to take his friend's advice, but was really just buying time until he knew his friend was sound asleep.

Pulling up Skype, Ian typed in Rosie's address and sat back and waited for her to take the call.

About ten minutes later, a screen with Rosie's tired face popped up. _"Ok, I don't know about you, but here in Chicago, it's almost midnight. People with jobs are usually asleep by then…"_

"I just wanted to know something."

" _What up?"_ Rosie yawned

"That plan you were talking about earlier… Does the offer still stand?"

Rosie raised a brow. _"Is your girlfriend ok with this or…?"_

Ian shook his head. "Just me. I'm interested in where this could go."

" _So what you're saying is…?"_

"If you need some help, I'm your man."

Rosie smirked. _"Well, alright then."_

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 **Sorry this took so long. I blame the** _ **Gravity Falls**_ **finale. It was amazing, but holy crap, the feels. Also, I referenced Gravity Falls in this chapter if any diehard fans can spot it.**

 **Anyway, another short chapter. But, it has some important stuff in there.**

 **You guys review and stick around for the next chapter. I get the feeling you guys will have a** _ **big**_ **reaction towards it. *Wink, wink***


	16. 15: Shards of Glass

**Happy Easter! And if you don't celebrate it, just roll with me here…**

 **Chapter 15! Not only do I now have 100 plus followers, but this chapter,** _ **this chapter**_ **gets the ball rolling. I'll just leave you with that…**

 **Also, guest review last time! To:**

 _ **Stefa:**_ **I'm glad that you enjoy the story so much. I'm not going to lie, it's one of my favorite to write and I'm honored you love it so much. Thanks for the review and I hope this chapter was quick enough for you.**

 **Disclaimer: I reference** _ **The Simpson**_ **'s episode** _ **The Homer of Seville**_ **and** _ **Gitchee Gitchee Goo**_ **belongs to the** _ **Phineas and Ferb**_ **creators and** _ **Flareon**_ **belongs to** _ **Pokémon**_ **.** _ **Steven Universe**_ **is referenced again but in one way you have to kind of look for. I own nothing nor do I own anything I reference. I am merely a pop culture fanatic… Also I find these particular references funny.**

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

The older figure's gaze skimmed through his colleague's findings. He had tasked his colleague with scouting out any potential threats to their plan and—apart from an appalling lack of creditable technology—there was none. Except…

"Wanda Maximoff and Darcy Lewis... blah, blah, blah, neurological recognizer… blah, blah, blah… Oh, here's something worth interest; not a threat." He tossed down the report and glared at the younger figure. "I'm not entirely sure what a 'neurological recognizer' is, but my gut feeling is telling me it's nothing. My gut feeling has never been wrong… I always listen to my gut—"

"Because that's gotten you so far in life." The younger figure muttered under their breath.

"Hey!" The older figure stood suddenly, startling the younger. "Don't forget, my gut told me to trust you."

"Right, right. Sorry, it's just my boss is driving me crazy and my other boss is freaking out over nothing."

The older figure glared at the deadpanned remark. "I'm your boss."

"Exactly! I don't see what you're so worried about…"

"What is a neurological recognizer?"

"I heard it will help people and Hulks remember friend and enemy and their morals or whatever bullshit Stark fed Tweedle Weird and Tweedle Bitch."

The older figure feigned interest. "Oh, so an invention that will help the Earth's Mightiest Heroes remember right from wrong, friend from enemy, their own moral code, and all the other namby-pamby crap that made them join the Avengers?" The younger figured nodded. "Oh, so let me get this straight; You think an invention in the hands of a superhero and the Avenger's assistant that is basically the anti-serum to our invention isn't something you consider a threat?!"

The younger figured rolled their eyes, holding up their hands in mock-surrender. "Down boy, you're forgetting a very crucial part of the story."

"Which would be?"

"Darcy Lewis and Wanda Maximoff are not scientists. Sure, they may live with a scientist and work closely with other scientists, but they are not scientists."

The older figure raised a brow at the younger's smirk. "I'm still not convinced."

The younger's smirk softened into a sweet smile as they pulled out their phone. "Well, if you're so worried about them being a problem, I might know of someone who could… take care of the problem," The younger handed the elder the phone, "for a certain price."

The elder's face wrinkled in disgust. " _Him_? You would honestly considering hiring that failed experiment?"

"That experiment, while highly unethical by my standards, made him practically indestructible. Considering the amount of damage Maximoff could do to any man, that's an important factor. And since he only ever really goes over to the dumb school in New York to borrow money and has no real moral obligations, he's the perfect guy for the job."

"Read my lips: _No_."

"Fine, but you're the one who wanted a solution to your _'Problem'_."

" _Mr. Hix?"_

The older figure pressed a finger to the intercom button. "Yes?"

" _Miss Hernandez just called up from the robotics lab. It seems there's a problem with a section of coding."_

He sighed. "Probably the new functions and whatnot. Tell her I'll be down momentarily."

" _Yes sir."_

The younger figured smiled in what could have been reassurance if not for the smugness in their eyes. "Trust me, Darcy and Wanda are not a threat."

"It's not you I don't trust, it's them." Hix straightened his suit and headed to the door. "This affects nothing though, the plan continues as normal."

"The plan is moving too slowly…"

"Nonsense, the system is installed. All we have to do is keep S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers busy while it works its magic."

"Perhaps we wouldn't have to keep them busy at all if we did things my way."

"Your way?' Hix laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry, it's just… _you're way_?"

The younger figured squared their shoulders and stood straighter. "Think that's funny, do you?"

"Like you have any worthwhile ideas anyway."

The younger figure smirked. "I have a few,"

That's when the sounds of an explosion, shattering glass, and screams of terror and pain ran through the halls and the building shook.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

" _D'oh, d'oh, d'oh, d'oh, d'oh, d'oh, d'oh, d'oh. Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo-hoo. Stu, stu, stu, stu-pid Flanders."_

' _Why the crescendo, my dear, old friend-o?'_

" _Get lost, you waste of a mustache!"_

' _Okily-dokily'_

Wanda and Jane laughed while Natasha merely smiled. While _The Simpsons_ was not there first choice for girl's day, considering Darcy (the so-far silent fourth member of their group) needed a laugh, they opted for the animated comedy.

"Why does Homer hate that man so much?" Wanda asked.

Jane shrugged, "Probably because he's the exact opposite of him."

Natasha, noticing Darcy's out of character quietness, tapped her on the shoulder. "You ok, Darcy?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Because a roast set to music just played on screen and you had no snarky comment."

"Is this about Ian?" Jane asked. While both Wanda and the astrophysicist held no fond feelings for the young man, they were concerned about Darcy. Usually, when upset, she would listen to The _Nightmare Before Christmas_ album. After the taser-toting girl kicked Ian out, Wanda came home to find her roommate binge watching _Steven Universe_. She looked like she had been crying and was rather quiet.

It was unsettling to say the least.

"Yes… No… Maybe?"

"You don't sound very sure…" Natasha commented.

"Look, I'm just… I guess…" Darcy sighed. "I got some serious thinking to do. Let's leave it at that."

The other three women exchanged glances. True, Natasha was unaware of the fact Ian had another girlfriend out in England, but the fact stilled weighed heavily on Jane and Wanda's conscious. They were happy there friend was considering dumping Ian once and for all, it was just the weight of the secret was starting to get to heavy.

Both were worried it was only a matter of time before they accidentally revealed something they probably shouldn't know in the first place.

"You know if you need any help, we're here for you. Right?" Natasha asked, placing a hand on Darcy's shoulder. When the brunette didn't respond, the former assassin's pleasant smile faded away into a harsh glare. "That does it, Jane get my purse. I'm calling Steve."

"Why Steve?" Wanda asked.

"Well, I figure whatever Ian did to piss of Darcy—who for as long as I can remember, never stopped smiling even for a second—is about the level of an international crime. So, I'm gonna ask him to _'Avengers Assemble'_ all over Ian's ass."

"Don't!" Darcy said suddenly. Though she sounded harsh, even Darcy couldn't fight back the small smile at the image of the Avengers beating the crap out of Ian just for her.

"There she is," Natasha smirked.

Jane smiled as well, noticing that Natasha's quick thinking probably just saved this Girl's Day. "Nat's right, you can't let yourself get all twisted around because of Ian. If he's causing you this much pain, then it's time to get him out of your life."

Darcy sighed. "I know, and I understand that, it's just… I've been with him for almost three years now… I just… Gosh, I don't know. I guess I just can't picture life without him."

 _I can,_ Wanda thought _, you'll be happier._

Instead of repeating her thoughts, Wanda chose another tactic. "Listen, Ian isn't worthy of your sheer awesomeness." Darcy blushed a bit and smiled. Jane caught onto to what Wanda was doing and continued.

"Yeah! Darcy, think about it. You tased a Thunder God, helped stop the Dark Elves back in Greenwich, you keep the Avengers in line, helped them run mission, hacked HYDRA, you helped stop Ultron—"

"—and that hat is super cute." Natasha pointed out, nodding to her _Flareon_ stocking cap. Darcy stroked the hem of her beloved _Pokémon_ hat and laughed.

"Yeah, I guess you girls are right…"

"Guess nothing. We're women, we're always right."

The four shared a quick laugh at Jane's comment before Darcy suggested, instead of _The Simpsons_ , they opt out for a movie and—after much debating—the four settled on _Pitch Perfect._

However, just as the first scene was starting, a certain song started to play and Wanda's face turned a bright crimson of embarrassment.

" _Bow Chicka Bow-Wow! That's what my baby says. Mow-mow-mow! And my heart starts pumpin'. Chicka-chicka choo wah! Never gonna stop—Gitchee gitchee goo means that I love you!"_

"What the hell is that?" Natasha asked.

Wanda groaned and buried her face into her hands. "It's my ringtone."

Jane snorted. " _That's_ your ringtone?"

"Isn't that one of the songs from _Phineas and Ferb_?" Darcy asked cheekily

"It's supposed to be ironic." The witch told her friends, blush increasing as they laughed at her on her way to the kitchen where her phone lay on its charger.

" _My baby's got her own way of talkin', whenever she says something sweet. And she knows it's my world she's a'rockin' by my vocabulary's incompl—"_

"Hello?" The other three watched as Wanda's face morphed into one of surprise. "Trisha? What're you—what?... Yeah, yeah I have access to the Head of S.H.I.E.L.D. Why what's… Oh my god, are you ok?!"

"Wanda?" Darcy called.

The witch rushed back into the living room. Her face had drained of color and her cell phone was pressed to her ear, the other three could hear someone crying on the other end. "It's Trisha."

"Hix?" Natasha asked, confused.

"Yeah!"

"What's wrong?"

"Hix Industries was bombed!"

"What?!" Darcy leapt to her feet. Wanda had re-introduced her to Trisha over _Skype_ yesterday and the two got along swimmingly. "Is she ok?"

"Yeah, she says she's ok but…" Wanda trailed off as Trisha started saying something to her again. Whatever little color had been left in Wanda's face was gone completely now as her eyes widened in fear and shock. "A-Are you sure?..."

"Sure of what?" Jane asked

"Uh-huh… uh-huh, hold on just a minute." Wanda turned back to her friends. "Her and her dad think it was HYDRA who bombed them."

Darcy's mouth fell open.

"I'm calling Coulson," Natasha announced, heading toward the kitchen, "Jane, where'd you put my purse? My phone is in it."

"It's in the coat closet, just look left of the…" Jane trailed off, following Natasha into the kitchen.

"Trisha, are you ok?" Wanda asked again, only to get a choked sob in response.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Loki glanced out the S.H.I.E.L.D issued plane's window for what seemed like the millionth time that hour. No unearthing vibranium for him today, oh no. There was a bigger assignment for him to do.

HYDRA, S.H.I.E.L.D's exact opposite, had bombed that Hix fellow's building yesterday. Seeing as how Hix and S.H.I. were allies now, that meant immediate response from them, and clean-up duty for him.

It was all a rather strange, yet boring affair to the God, and suddenly Loki found himself wishing for vibranium duty. At least he knew what to expect from that job. A long, boring car ride to the sight which consisted of Darcy Lewis and himself ignoring each other's existence, grueling hours of unearthing the very thing that kept him in shackles, one final, boring car ride with Darcy Lewis, and then back to his cell for the night.

"Uh-huh… yes, we're almost there… Ok, head to the laboratory on the thirty-seventh floor… Alright, we'll see you soon." The Witch pressed a button and shoved her phone in her dress pocket. "Alright, everything's set up to meet Trisha."

"What about her father?" The Spider asks.

"Trisha said her dad and Rosie were working through some legal ramifications at the moment. She said he'd like to come up and speak with you but is more than likely going to have to reschedule or something like that." The witch shrugs her shoulders and leans against the back of her chair.

The Witch and the Spider have chosen to accompany himself and Darcy Lewis on this particular outing for different reasons. The Witch to check in on her and Darcy Lewis's mutual friend, Trisha Hix. The Spider, to go over security threats and look at the explosion sight or something similar. Loki couldn't care less, honestly. It just added more annoyances to an already mundane trip.

Lovely.

Darcy Lewis, who had been worrying her lower lip silently for the past fifteen minutes, glances out her window and gasps in delight. "Whoa, is that the _Sears Tower_?" The Witch joins her friend at the window and smiles.

"I've never seen it so up close before. Wow, they weren't kidding, that building is huge."

Loki, sneaking a glance at the Tower of Sears, inwardly scoffs. While, admittedly, quite tall for mortal standards, he can think of at least one or two buildings in Asgard that are ten times that building's size.

"Ok, if that's _Sears Tower_ than that must mean…" Darcy Lewis unbuckles herself and makes her way over to the seat across from Loki. The God is a bit surprised by the action until he realizes the young girl is only there to glance out the window. "Aha! Right there, _Tribune Tower_ and that must be the Chicago River."

Loki glances out the window and easily spots the aforementioned river, but is unsure which of the many towers in this city must be the one of the _Tribune's_.

"I'll regret asking this in about five minutes, but how do you know so much about Chicago, Darcy?" The Spider asks.

"Dude, I'm from Michigan and my family's moderately wealthy." Darcy Lewis cracks a half-smirk and thumbs toward the city outside the plane. "I used to come to Chicago almost every summer."

"Really?" The Witch asks, smiling.

"Oh hell yeah." Darcy Lewis twists her body and is suddenly sitting in the seat, her legs draped over one of the arm rests like it's a throne, his existence forgotten. "I remember one time in high school, me and my friends high-jacked my brother's old truck and took it down here for the weekend." She laughs fondly at the memory. "We stayed at this really crappy motel and had about thirty bucks between us all. We got in _so much_ trouble when we got home…"

As the three laugh as Darcy Lewis shares more tales of her adventures in the city of Chicago, Loki studies her attire. Tight-fitting, stretchy looking pants patterned to look like some distant star system, a red, short-sleeved shirt with a single, five-point yellow star in the center, ankle length, black heeled boots, and some odd hat resembling a creature with reddish-orange fur and long ears.

It is an odd look. It is a bright look. It is an eye sore of a look.

Yet on her, Loki finds that it somehow… _works_.

"Well, it's good to know that if I ever get lost in Chicago, I can always call you to tell me where to go." The Witch laughs good-naturedly as the plane starts to descend.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"Huh, not what I expected the building to look like." Darcy admits out loud as she and the others are led by S.H.I.E.L.D Agents to the front of the building. Taking into account the amount of rich businessmen she knew worked with S.H.I.E.L.D (read: Only Tony Stark), Darcy would've thought the building itself would be more… _outlandish_ , for lack of a better word

Forty stories tall, the building is a typical one. Grey steal atop a concrete foundation on the corner of N. Michigan Ave and E. Illinois St. The dark, glass windows reflect the sunlight so well, Darcy had to squint her eyes. The only thing that sets this building apart from the other offices that Chicago seems to be teeming with is the large, white letters that spell out _'HIX INDUSTRIES.'_ at the very top of the building. The brunette looks behind her and smiles slightly. Across the street, _Tribune Tower_ stands tall and proud.

For whatever reason, Darcy finds comfort in the fact that a building she often awed and gawked at during her youth is close to something so unfamiliar and, admittedly, intimidating. If not a bit creepy as well…

"Darcy!" Startled, said girl turned to see Wanda leading Loki into the building. Natasha nodded her head toward the building. "Sight see on your own time, let's go."

Embarrassed at being caught, Darcy squeaked "Coming!" before jogging to catch up with the others.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Wanda glanced around the foyer of the building. Sunlight streamed in from the many windows behind her and above her. Tall, white ceilings with long, narrow lights humming quietly in the background under the usual office chatter stretch out before her. She glances right; one hallway with signs that point towards a bathroom, a staircase, and some sort of supply closet. She glances left; at the end of the hall, there is a single white door against a burgundy wall. In black letters the word _'AUTHORIZED PERSONAL ONLY'_ are written on and on top of the door. A lab assistant swipes a card, a small green light flashes from behind the door and he is allowed in.

Wanda eyes Loki. His wrists are bound in some sort of odd, special looking cuffs that look uncomfortable to say the least. Vibranium, Wanda remembers. The only thing that can keep his magic in check, should he try anything funny.

The Witch can't help but wonder, if for a moment, vibranium would have the same effect on her.

Pulling her sunglow-yellow shawl tighter across her shoulders, Wanda walks forward. At the very back of the room, three silver elevator doors are opening and closing, distributing police men, fire fighters, and others of the like at random.

The receptionist at the sleek desk in the center of the room merely has to glance at her and Loki to know what is going on. "They're waiting for you, thirty-seventh floor." She tells them.

"Right," Wanda absently nods her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Loki giving her a disgusted look. She shrugs her shoulders, _Can't please him I suppose._

Just as the two of them reach the elevators, the one in the center dings open. Police and Firefighters pour out, along with a few exhausted looking employees.

Yet, at the very back, a pretty girl with short brown hair and a skin-tight _Batman_ Tank Top and lab coat leans against the wall. She looks well put together and, frankly, well rested. As if the events of the past twenty-four hours did not affect her at all.

She fiddles with one of the many earrings in her right ear and then glances up, spotting the Witch and the God. She raises a brow, as if unimpressed by their mere existence, and gives them a slow once over, as if trying to figure out what they can do.

After what seems like an agonizing amount of time, the girl smirks in a remorseless way before sticking her nose in the air and sashaying out of the elevator. Wanda can say for certain, but she believes the girl purposefully bumped into both her and Loki on the way out.

The God sneers in her direction while the Witch raises a brow.

However, both expressions seemed to disappear from their face as the girl practically glided past Darcy and Natasha. The former glaring at the young girl with an intense hatred.

Slowly, Wanda steps into the elevator, not taking her eyes off the retreating form of the young girl. Before Natasha blocks her view completely, Wanda can see the girl heading towards the hallway marked _'AUTHORIZED PERSONAL ONLY'_.

"The thirty-seventh floor, right?" Natasha asks

' _AUTHORIZED PERSONAL ONLY'_ Wanda shivers.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, thirty-seventh floor. Right…" The witch is thankful the former assassin doesn't call her out on her lack of confidence at the moment.

' _AUTHORIZED PERSONAL ONLY'_ Wanda crosses her arms over her chest and frowns. _'AUTHORIZED PERSONAL ONLY'_

 _Something doesn't feel right,_ she thinks.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"This is the floor where the bomb went off," Trisha explains to the four, "so, naturally, it took the most damage."

The blonde had met them the moment they had practically stepped off the elevator. Looking haggard and, frankly, like hell.

With bags under her eyes, smudge marks over her normally pristine lab coat, glasses slightly askew, and even a few strands of hair hanging limply by her head instead of tucked in the perfect little bun she always wore, the four could safely assume that the bomb going off had quite the impact on Trisha.

"Where did you say the bomb went off?" Natasha asked. She had been sent there to investigate the nature of the bomb, after all.

"Down the hall, look for the room with the most police tape around it and you're there."

As the former assassin makes her way down the hall, Trisha motions for the other three to follow her. They trail Natasha for a minute or so but when she turns right into the room, the three keep walking straight until they find a quarantined area at the end of the hall.

"The bomb went off in the lab, yes, but we had a few minor ones go off here. We would have had a Bomb Squad remove them, but they seem to be made of some highly toxic Vibranium and Gamma mixture."

"When you say _'Highly Toxic'_ …?" Darcy trailed off.

Trisha frowned and nodded to something behind the three of them. Glancing back, they spot, among the rubble, three body bags. All of them full.

Loki's eyes widened ever so slightly as Wanda let out a strangled noise of shock, disgust, and pity. Darcy turns to Trisha and, with a raised brow, gestures to the body bags. "You know, even with all the airs he puts on, Loki isn't invincible right?"

The God turns around to rebuke, but Trisha beats him to it. "Don't worry. We have Hazmat suits ready and waiting for whoever wants to use them. We just have to get you Loki fitted and we're all set."

She leads them to a room just adjacent of the one Natasha disappeared into. Flicking on the lights, the three spot bright yellow hazmat suits against the far wall, all ranging from small to large and everything in between.

Trisha walks over to one and holds it up, glancing back at Loki with a critical eye. "Here, try this on."

Loki nods to the cuffs around his wrist. Wanda digs around in her dress pocket and pulls out a key. Noticing how Loki eyes her warily, she hands them over to Darcy, who by comparison is more experienced with this sort of thing. Once unlocked, Loki rubs his wrists before reluctantly grabbing the suit, walking a bit of a ways away from the girls so he can pull it on.

"When did the bombs go off exactly?" Darcy asks.

"Um… the first one went off around, I'd say, 1:30 PM? The toxic ones went off about an hour or so later…"

"Any casualties?"

"Apart from the three you just saw in the hallway and one unfortunate janitor, thankfully, no."

"Did you guys lose any research or data?"

"Nothing that was too important or nothing my dad cared about." Trisha shrugged. Behind her, Loki zipped up the suit and started to move his arms a bit, testing to see how well it fit to him.

"I'm still having a hard time believing HYDRA would do something like this."

Trisha's eyes shifted slightly to the side. "Well…"

That made the other three in the room pause. Wanda raised a brow, "Well…"

"My dad and I were looking last night and, well, we found something…"

"What?"

"I don't even really know, I'm going by what my dad says, but we found these fragments of vibranium. Wakandan vibranium." The girl's eyes widened slightly as Loki flexes his fingers in the suit. "And after the whole _'Ultron'_ mess, that stuff has been harder and harder to find."

"HYDRA doesn't normally have that kind of problem." Darcy points out, remembering Klaue.

"Normally no, but, S.H.I.E.L.D told us they were still trying to regroup or whatever after the Avengers beat them back at the beginning of the month. Therefore, they not only have a lack of resources but a lack of funds to get these resources."

"And since the metal itself has gone up in value, it has had to have doubled in price as well." Wanda rationalizes. Trisha nods solemnly.

"So, if HYDRA didn't do it, then who did?" Darcy asks.

"Daddy and I have some theories, but until this whole mess is sorted out we're not allowed to say." Trisha tells them. Glancing back at Loki, who had been silently making mental notes of their entire conversation, she asks "How does it feel?"

Bending his legs a bit, Loki frowns. "It shall suffice."

"Great. I'll go see if I can't find you a mask as well." Pausing a bit, Trisha narrows her eyes. "You might need to tie your hair back a bit…"

"What he _needs_ is a haircut…" Darcy mumbles, Wanda snorts at this and Loki merely narrows his eyes. Feeling a bit intrusive and confused, Trisha heads out to find the God of Lies a mask.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Trisha stayed outside the quarantine area with Wanda and Darcy. Making sure to stress to Loki that even though he had a hazmat suit on and was, arguably, a bit stronger than humans, he shouldn't get to close to the bombs themselves. Instead, use his magic to levitate them all (" _Slowly_!" Trisha practically shouted) into designated crates that were to be shipped to S.H.I. HQ.

When Loki asked, a bit snippy, why he should listen to that command, Trisha told him that even with the suit on, the effects of the unstable mixture would not only be lethal, but not "pretty" to look at "If you know what I mean…"

The God, pondering her words, glanced at the body bags again. Realization seemed to dawn on him and he nodded at the blonde before stepping into the quarantine area.

However, the three ladies on the outside, were not in a less stressful situation. With the given stress of going into a building that had been severely damaged in a bomb the previous day, and watching someone work with highly toxic chemicals, coupled with the fact that whenever there was a loud noise of any kind they jumped, was less than appealing.

Finally, after watching Loki deal with the toxic bomb-shreds, Trisha huffed out and glanced at the five remaining bombs Loki had yet to collect.

"I can't stay here." Trisha announced. "I have to get out of here, or I'll snap."

"You don't have to stay here, you can go somewhere more comfortable for you if you want." Darcy told her.

"I don't want to go alone… Daddy's taking forever with that dumb meeting and I'm just too emotional and stressed to go alone…"

Wanda glanced at her new friend and then at Loki inside the quarantined area. "Um… Y'know, Darcy and I were hoping to start work on the Neurological Recognizer tomorrow."

"You were?" Trisha asked

"We were?" Darcy questioned. As far as she was concerned, tomorrow was consisted of Avenger's trainings and possibly pranking Sam again. Maybe even calling Clint to check up on him…

"Yes! _We were_ ," One glare was all it took for Darcy to understand what Wanda was getting at, "and we were wondering if you by chance had any notes we could work with?"

Thinking for a moment, Trisha smiled. "I think I do, actually. If one of you would follow me up to my office, I can go get them for you."

Darcy looked at Wanda "Do you want to…?"

"You go." Wanda assured her friend. "I'll stay here with _His Lowliness_."

Darcy smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Wans. I owe you one."

The Witch shrugged, as if to say no big deal, and turned to keep an eye on Loki as the other two women headed for the elevator.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"Welcome to the top floor of Hix Industries!" Trisha announced flamboyantly as the two stepped out of the elevator. "Cream of the Crop…"

Darcy's mouth dropped in awe. The floor plan was much like a foyer itself. Large, glass windows on either side of a long hallway. The sunlight streaming in provides a lot of natural light, yet hanging low from the ceiling were a bank of lights, "For when it gets dark out." Trisha explained.

There were doors lined up against the tiled hallway, each had a different room for a different purpose. _'Robotics Testing'_ on one, _'Neurology Lab'_ on another. At the very end of the hall were two doors. One labeled ' _Charles Hix, CEO'_ and across the hall from it was one labeled _'Trisha Hix, COO'_. Darcy smiled as Trisha led her to her office. "You're COO of Hix Industries?"

"Yep. Youngest ever. They featured me in _Life_ Magazine when I first took the position three years ago."

"And you have your own office, right next to your dad's?"

Trisha laughed, embarrassed. "Ah, that's nothing. I think that's just so he can keep an eye on me."

"Still pretty cool, though." Darcy laughed. Suddenly, realizing how close she was to the elder Hix and remembering their last encounter, Darcy cleared her throat. "So, um, where is your dad anyway?"

"I think he's still in his meeting in his office. Not sure though."

"How can we tell if he's in there or not?"

"Usually when he's in a meeting, his door will be closed." As the two girls approached the end of the hall, they saw that Charles Hix's office door was not closed. In fact, it was wide open. Revealing a large, empty room.

"Huh, guess he finally got out of that meeting."

"Where do you think he is?"

Trisha hummed thoughtfully for a minute. "He probably went to go look for us or something. I told him we would be on the thirty-seventh floor." Motioning for Darcy to follow her, Trisha headed to her office. "We probably just missed each other. I mean, we have three different elevators after all."

"Makes sense, I guess."

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Darcy and Trisha have only been gone for fifteen minutes when Loki, finally complete with his assignment, steps out of the quarantined area. As he does, S.H.I.E.L.D agents in hazmat suits begin to finish the cleanup of the area and start to take down the plastic wall they had put up.

As Loki stepped out of the suit, Wanda handed him a large containment bag, where he and the other agents were to dispose of the suits when they were through with them.

"How many were in there?" Wanda asked, curious.

"Fifteen or Sixteen. One loses track of such things in that kind of task." Loki responded absently.

"Well, we just have to wait for Darcy and Natasha and then we can leave."

 _Joy,_ Loki thinks. As he disposes of the suit once and for all, he notices the Spider approaching them. The God also notices that she does not look please.

"Have either of you seen Charles Hix?" The Spider announces. Glancing around, she furrows her brows. "Where are Darcy and Trisha?"

Loki, surprisingly, has just noticed there absence as well. Wanda gestures towards the elevators. "Trisha took Darcy up to her office to get some notes for our side project."

"Oh, I see."

"Though, I have to agree with you on the 'Charles Hix' situation. Trisha said he was in that meeting since ten this morning." Wanda strokes her chin, contemplative. "He _should_ have at least come out once by now, or sent us a message or something."

Loki, relishing in the fact he has yet to be put back in those infernal cuffs, pays little attention to their conversation. Until, upon looking out the nearest window, notices a familiar reflection approaching the group.

"Agent Romanoff, Agent Maximoff!" Dr. Erik Selvig calls out to the women as he approaches.

Said women stare at him in confusion. "Dr. Selvig?" The Spider questions.

"I flew out as soon as I could." He offered as a way of explaining. "What's the problem?"

"What?"

"The problem? With the bombs?" Dr. Selvig questioned. "Coulson got a call that said you needed my help right away."

The Spider exchanges a quick, confused glance with the Witch and glances at Loki, who merely glares at them all, before turning back to Erik Selvig.

"Dr. Selvig… I'm fairly certain no one currently present called you in here."

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

There's a picture of a family on the desk. A man with brown hair holds a beautiful woman with blonde hair in his arms, while a pair of baby twins, a boy and a girl, sit in their lap. The family is smiling, the family is happy. The Hix family looks like any other typical American family in this picture. Only now, Darcy senses that the family has gone through rough patches and came out the other side not quite the same. Yet, in this picture, they are happy.

Darcy feels a familiar pang of sadness in her stomach that she has gotten use to ignoring by now. Meanwhile, Trisha is ruffling through her file cabinet and speaking science. Darcy, in all honesty, is having a hard time paying attention.

"—easy and apparent way to go about all this would be to strengthen the limbic system. However, if we were to strengthen that, we would be strengthening its other purposes and that is not what we want to do. I hypothesize that if we were to strengthen the neural pathways _to_ the limbic system, we could actually strengthen certain memories."

Darcy nods. "So, if we do this and then find a way to strengthen certain memories, we would basically encode those memories to never go away, right?"

"Yes, exactly!" Trisha seems excited that Darcy was paying attention. "And once we have the basic downs, I bet we could start building an actual prototype."

Darcy nods again, absent mindedly fingering the hem of her shirt. Glancing out the still open door into Hix's empty office across the hall, Darcy clears her throat. "So, um, just between you and me… Who do you think set those bombs?"

"Darcy, I told you, I'm not allowed to say." Trisha stands up and glares at her file cabinet. "God dammit, where did I put that file? I swear I was looking at it yesterday…"

"Just between you and me…" Trisha glances at the brunette, uncertain. "C'mon! I'm curious. I'll keep it a secret. Cross my heart!"

The blonde bit the inside of her lip before going over and closing the office door. "Swear on your life you won't tell?"

"I swear on my father's _grave_." Darcy nods confidently. "Yeah, I'm that serious."

"Ok, so, this conversation doesn't leave this room but… I think it was Rosie Hernandez."

All of Darcy's confidence seems to slip away from her as a weight drops into her stomach. "R-Rosie?"

"Yeah, my Daddy's assistant? I don't know if you two met or not…"

" _Rosie has a plan." Ian smiled excitedly._

" _A plan?"_

"I-I've met her…" Darcy trails off, not trusting her voice.

" _It's more like I have a strong, passionate dislike for the unstable, obsessive man I work for."_

"Oh, well, then you must have noticed her hostility towards my Daddy." Darcy nods. "Yeah… Can't say I blame her."

"What'd you mean?"

"Well, a few years ago, there was a small robotics business that was starting to teeter out. There had been some hacking and blueprint-leaking problems and the company had just about gone bankrupt. My Daddy came in and bought the entire company, even merged them with his. But…"

"But?" Darcy prompted

"It turns out that my Daddy played a, er, _part_ in the hacking and more or less forcibly bought the company. Rosie's family had owned the company for years and she was next in line to get it… Guess she felt a little cheated, huh?"

" _Listen, Hix can't sell this serum until he tests it on a larger group of people to see if it works. Now, if you two can help me get in there and destroy the serums and all the research surrounding it, Hix will have nothing and the sale will fall through_."

"Oh my God…" Darcy whimpered, bringing her hands up to her mouth.

"Are you ok, Darcy?" Trisha asked, frowning worriedly. "You look like you're about to throw up.

Darcy glances at Trisha. Feeling angry and sick to her stomach all at once. "I heard something about Hix's latest invention a couple of days ago." Trisha straightens and gives Darcy a strange look. "What?"

"Did you hear that something from Rosie?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Look, don't shoot me or anything, but I may have helped her out a bit. Let her into a few labs, gave her some unimportant documents, that sort of thing."

"Wait, hold on a second," Darcy gives Trisha an incredulous look, " _you're_ Rosie's inside man, er, woman?!" Trisha nods, guilty. " _Why_?! Why would you help her if you don't even trust her?!"

"Hey, I helped her before I realized she was a couple cards short of a full deck! Besides, I told you what my Daddy did to her family's company, I thought she was in the right." Trisha cups her cheeks for a second before turning back to Darcy. "Did she tell you anything else?"

Darcy just had to sit down for a second. This was a lot of information to take in, after all. _I can't believe it,_ she thinks _, Trisha—someone who has been nothing but kind, helpful, and sweet to me since day one—would even for a moment goes against her dad to help_ Rosie _…_

"Did she tell you anything else?" Trisha repeats urgently.

"Something about a plan," Darcy says slowly.

All the color drains from the blonde's face and her eyes widened. Out of instinct, Darcy leans away as Trisha approaches her. The blonde roughly grabs the brunette by the sleeves of her shirt and yanks her off the desk she had been sitting on.

"When is it happening?"

"Wha…?"

"The plan, Darcy! Rosie's plan, when is it happening?!"

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Wanda's thoughts are whirring around in her head at a speed even she can't keep up with.

 _Who called in Dr. Selvig? Could it have been Darcy? No, Darcy accidentally left her phone back at the apartment. Loki? No, probably not… Wait, does he even know how to work a phone? Focus! Who called in Dr. Selvig? Definitely wasn't me, I would've remembered. Natasha? No, she seems just as confused as I am. Who called in Dr. Selvig?_

"Look, all I'm saying is, someone from this location called me in and I came in!" Dr. Selvig tells Natasha. "I was just following orders."

"Not to discredit you, Doctor, but the bombs of this nature had nothing to do with astrophysics. Why would someone call you in?"

As the two continue to argue/figure-things-out, Wanda glances at Loki and grows nervous. He has been out of those cuffs for a while and since Darcy has them, and the key, there's not much she can do. And with Loki, the Witch doesn't doubt that he as at least seven tricks up his sleeve.

Ulterior motives and mysterious phone calls aside, they need to get Loki back in his cuffs and back to Avengers HQ before—

— _set to go off in five minutes._

The sudden intrusion of thoughts that are not her own startles the Witch so much she actually jumps. Glancing around, she tries to figure out who could've been thinking such a thing, but only notices Loki giving her and odd/disgusted look.

 _Erik Selvig is present, just gotta get him onto location._

 _That_ makes Wanda pause. Someone needs to get Dr. Selvig 'onto location'? What could that mean?

 _Two minutes to go. Bombs are in place. Time for Phase Two…_

Wanda's blood runs cold and she, momentarily forget how to breathe. From behind her, Loki raises a brow. "Now, what could possibly cause you such distress, little wi—"

"Shush!" Wanda tells him, eyes glowing a bright shade of red for a moment. Appalled, Loki glares at her.

"What did you just say, you pathetic—"

" _Shush_!"

"Hey! Old timer," A new, rougher voice calls out. The four present glance down the hall to see a dark-skinned man approaching them, "yeah, you. Where's your visitor's pass?" Wanda's mouth falls open.

"My what?" Dr. Selvig questions

"Your visitor's—you don't have…" The man runs a hand through his hair in frustration. "Get over here, I need some information." That man's voice… His thoughts were the ones Wanda just heard!

Dr. Selvig motions to Natasha that this will only take a moment before heading over to meet the man by the wall.

 _Thirty seconds and counting. At least I helped stopped a greater evil._

Greater evil? What is this guy talking about?

 _Twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven…_

Wanda can feel her heart beating, her breathing irregular. The air around her starts to feel a bit different.

 _Twenty-six, twenty-five, twenty-four, twenty-three…_

Loki stiffens once he feels it. Magic, energy. It is hovering in the air and it is powerful.

It is not his magic, though.

The energy hangs in the air, tense and electrified. Ready to snap and damage anything and anyone within the surrounding area at any given moment.

 _Twenty-two, twenty-one, twenty, nineteen..._

The God of Lies glances at the Witch and his eyes widen at the sight.

She is wound up tight, like a rubber band ready to snap apart. Her eyes are glowing a violent red and a slight aura of energy radiates from her fingertips. Her breathing is irregular and she is afraid.

 _Eighteen, seventeen, sixteen…_

Her limited emotional control of her power is starting to show and Loki can only imagine the horror it would cause if she were to unleash it.

He steps forward and grabs her arm, snapping her out of her thoughts. "You need to calm down, mortal. Or you will blow us all—"

Loki is relatively surprised when her free hand reaches up and grabs the collar of his shirt, pulling him slightly closer.

"We need to leave, _now_." She tells him.

 _Fifteen, fourteen…_

"Pardon?"

"There is another bomb about to go off and we're all going to be in its blast area."

 _Thirteen…_

"What?" His eyes widen.

 _Twelve…_

"We need to leave, and if you have to use your magic to get us _all_ out of here, then so be it!"

 _Eleven…_

The elevator door opens and a blonde and brunette run out of it and towards the group. Fear and urgency etched on their faces.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Darcy can only blink in surprise for a few moments. Trisha shakes her a bit, "Dammit Darcy, answer the question! Rosie's plan, when is it happening?!"

"Soon." Darcy finally says. "I don't know when, but I think it will be very soon."

Trisha releases her hold on Darcy and backs away, looking as if all the air was punched out of her body. "Shit… Shit, shit, shit, shit, _shit_! This can't be good, it won't end well for anybody!"

"Ok, if you don't start making sense in the next two minutes, I'm gonna taze you."

"I was only helping Rosie until I figured out what she wanted to do," Trisha explains, "she wants to break into my Daddy's personal lab and—"

"—steal back his latest experiment so he can't sell it to HYDRA. Yeah, I heard that part."

"What?! Sell it to HYDRA? Is that what she said?" Darcy nods. "Oh my God, he was never going to sell it to HYDRA!"

"He wasn't?"

"No, of course not! My dad might have done some shady things in the past but he's not some evil supervillain and he's definitely not a terrorist."

"But then why did—?"

" _Rosie_ is going to sell it to HYDRA!She wants revenge on my dad so badly she made a deal with them. She'll get them his latest experiments and in return they're going to do horrible things to my Daddy, and worse, _me_!"

" _Don't you think you're being a bit closed-minded?"_

"' _Closed-minded' isn't exactly a word I would use to describe someone who just said no to help rob a benefactor to the U.S Government!"_

" _Well, maybe if you weren't acting like a jealous little girl, you would see that this plan is actually helpful to humanity!"_

"I told him," Darcy says more to herself than to Trisha, "I told him that this plan was crazy and he didn't believe me."

"Who?"

"My…" Darcy pauses again, throat suddenly tight. "Ian. I told him this plan was crazy and he called me jealous, and I was right!" Darcy clenches her fists. "When I get my hands on him…"

"Darcy, we can talk about, and possibly kill, your boyfriend later. But right now, we need to go find my dad and warn him about Rosie's plan!"

As Trisha bolts out of her office, Darcy speeds after her. Once they reach the elevator, Darcy turns to her. "Wait, how are we supposed to find him?"

"Remember? I said he might've have gone to the thirty-seventh floor to find us. And even if he's not there, we can get your friends to help us look."

"Loki is not my friend."

The elevator door opens with a _Ping!_ "We don't have time for this, come on!" Practically dragging the brunette into the elevator, Trisha repeatedly jabs her finger against the _Close Door_ and the button for the Thirty-Seventh floor.

After an agonizingly long ride down, which consisted of both girls bouncing on the heels of their feet and Darcy saying "We should've taken the stairs," every fifteen seconds followed by Trisha saying "I know" in response, the elevator finally arrived on the thirty-seventh floor.

Time seemed to move in slow motion after that.

 _Ten…_

With Trisha leading the way, the two girls ran out of the elevator.

 _Nine…_

Spotting Natasha, Wanda, and Loki towards the edge of the room, the girls made a beeline towards them.

 _Eight…_

Out of the corner of her eye, Darcy spotted Erik Selvig speaking to a dark-skinned man by a far wall.

 _Seven…_

 _Wait,_ Darcy wonders, _when the hell did Erik get here?_

 _Six…_

Wanda and Loki, who seemed to be quietly conversing about something important, turn to look at them.

 _Five…_

Trisha skids to a halt, frozen in fear once she spots a red beeping light on the far wall. Just above Dr. Selvig's head.

 _Four…_

When given a questioning look by Darcy, Trisha merely points to the red light.

 _Three…_

Darcy's eyes widened and her mouth opens, but no sound comes out.

 _Two…_

"Darcy!" Wanda shouts, her friend's look of horror doing nothing to ease her fears. Loki follows the brunette's gaze and his mouth falls open.

 _One._

The wall behind Erik Selvig and the dark-skinned man explodes, like a fire blossoming from a bud. The force of the blast sends everyone soaring back a few feet.

As the few people in the immediate area of the explosion hit the ground, they look up and see shards of glass hanging in the air, if for a moment, defying gravity. Before raining down upon them…


	17. 16: Her name, it's her name!

**Sorry this took so long. Job hunting, scholarships, spring break, my birthday, school, working a new job, graduation shit, things just got crazy. On the plus side, I've got a couple side stories in the works and, spoiler, I've got on my own stories—as in non-fanfiction stories—in the works.**

 **Also; I saw** _ **Zootopia**_ **and was really impressed with it. Disney has done it again and I highly recommend watching it, plus I make a small reference towards it. Those who have seen the movie will know what it is. Anyway, I'm here now and the cliff hanger will be resolved.**

 **Disclaimer: Nope. Nothing.**

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

The world was spinning, Loki realized.

The world was spinning and there was this _horrible_ pain spreading like ghost fingers across his back and chest, and a damned ringing noise penetrating through his ears.

Blinking his eyes open, the God of Lies winced at the bright sunlight sneaking through the thick, grey smoke.

 _Smells like smoke…_ He thought dumbly. In an attempt to prop himself up, Loki braced his hands against the ground ( _Was it ground?_ He wondered, _it's too cool to be ground_ ) and was surprised that he was cut in the process. Slowly, he brought his hands into his line of vision and saw little cuts, some bleeding and some not, all across his palms. Looking down at his body, he saw a shard of glass the size of his pointer finger sticking out from his side.

 _Smells like smoke…_ Slowly, not quite thinking straight, he pulls the glass from his side. Though kicked out of Asgard he may be, he still has a faster rate of healing than most mortal men. Still, once the glass is out of his side, the ringing in his ears seems to increase.

 _Smells like smoke and… and…_ The horrible stench hits his nose and he winces just a bit. Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees a flash of yellow. He carefully props himself up and finds the Witch, tears in her eyes and choking back a sound of pain, removing a shard of glass the size of his hand from her leg. He narrows his eyes at her, his mind still muddled by the ringing in his ears and the horrible stench in the air.

 _Smells like smoke and… and… and what?_ The Witch chucks the bloody shard across the floor in front of her, quickly clutching her wound with one hand while she shakily removes her yellow scarf with the other. _What is that horrible smell?_ Loki glances around to see the Spider, who was thrown against the wall, just starting to pick herself up. A few bumps and scratches, but otherwise uninjured. _It smells like smoke and… and…_ Loki glances to the opposite wall and finds about ninety-two percent of it missing.

 _Smells like smoke and…_

Lying limp on the floor near the missing wall are the bodies of Dr. Selvig and some other fellow Loki can't quite recognize anymore.

 _Smells like smoke and burning flesh._

Once he is able to properly identify the smell, one he has experienced with centuries in battle, Loki's head seems to clear. The ringing in his ears fades and replaced by a wall of screams and the sound of feet crunching over glass in an attempt to escape.

Suddenly, he misses the ringing sound.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

A cry makes Loki turn. He sees the Witch attempting to stand-up. Her yellow scarf, which now is tightly tied across her calf, already starting to stain red.

Taking a deep breath, Loki braces his arms against the floor—ignoring the stinging pain across his palms as he does so—and pushes himself up into a standing position. He wobbles, his nerves still shook by the explosion that he can't seem to remember happening.

Bracing himself against the wall, he spares the Witch a glance to see she is not fairing so well. Her face contorted in pain as she leans heavily against the wall.

" _Erik_!" A voice from above the screams catches his attentions and he turns to see Darcy Lewis attempting to fight the mass of panicking crowds to get to her friend. Loki takes the time to notice that aside from her odd hat being missing from her head and a tear across her pants, she looks relatively unharmed by the explosion.

Darcy Lewis starts to jam her elbows into random bodies and is almost halfway to her limp friend when Trisha rushes over and grabs her by the elbow. "Darcy, stop! There's nothing you can do for him now!"

"He needs help!" Darcy Lewis attempts to pry her arm free, but fails. "He… He…"

"He is a victim of Rosie's insanity." Trisha says. Darcy Lewis looks back to Selvig's body, tears welling in her eyes and her body going slack for a second. The God thinks she would've fallen to her knees if not for the blonde's hold on her. For a moment, the eyes that baffle Loki so seem emotionless, but then they seemed to harden and the girl let out a shaky breath.

"Ok… Ok." Another quick inhale followed by a long exhale. "Now what?"

"Rosie's plan is already in action. That means she's already got my daddy." Trisha explained, looking oddly calm and put together for someone who was just caught in an explosion. "I know where she's going. We have to get there before she does something even crazier than this!"

"Alright, where?"

"Follow me," Trisha yanks Darcy up and practically drags her by her wrist, following the panicking crowd towards the stairwell.

He hears the Witch call out to her friend's name a few times before she limps forward slowly. Loki glances at the still large crowd and then to the Witch, before finally, his eyes land on Selvig's limp form.

The Spider coughs a bit before pulling out a communicator. "Agent Romanoff, Location: Hix Industries in Chicago, Illinois. Another bomb has went off, Dr. Selvig is severely injured and I have a sinking feeling there may be more bombs in the building." Loki's head snaps in her directions.

" _Rosie's plan is already in action."_ Trisha Hix's words echo in his head. He glances to see the Witch limping slowly toward Dr. Selvig, her face unreadable.

The Spider looks up. "Wanda; you and Loki get outside, wait for back-up to arrive and help quell the panic."

It looks as though the Witch has not heard anything the Spider. She just continues to stare at Dr. Selvig's form. Loki follows her gaze and realizes he can't tell if the man is breathing or not. "Wanda!" The Spider shouts again. "Wanda, did you hear me?!"

The Witch's eyes shift from Selvig to the space Darcy Lewis and Trisha Hix once occupied. Her eyes narrow for a moment. Loki notices her eyes flash red for the briefest of moments before she gasps and dashes out of the room. Limping/running after her friends.

The Spider calls her name, as if she will hear her. Loki glances around, unsure of what to do. His eyes zero in on the entrance way and something orange catches his eye. Curious, he slowly makes his way over to the entrance way. He stops once he's there and stares at the orange _thing_ on the floor with a mix of disgust and something he can't name.

The hat that Darcy Lewis was wearing that morning stares back at him. One ear is stained grey and is slightly charred, so it did not escape fire completely. He bends down and gently picks the hat up, almost cradling it in his hands.

" _I know where she's going. We have to get there before she does something even crazier than this!"_

Narrowing his eyes, he stuffs the hat in his pocket and follows after the Witch, ignoring the Spider's shouts of protest as he does.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Darcy remembers, back when she was in high school, how she and her friends would always go to the Homecoming Game. Admittedly, Darcy was forced to go, seeing as how she was in the Choir and therefore required to sing the National Anthem before the start of every homecoming game, but she never complained.

Once, in her junior year of high school, she and her friends were goofing around in the bleachers, not really paying attention to the score. Suddenly, the crowd had started screaming and cheering and cow bells were ringing from all around her. Later, Darcy found out that her high school's team had finally scored a touchdown (the only one of that game). But what she remembered most was how claustrophobic it felt. Everyone jumping up and down, arms going in just about every direction, and screams and cowbells penetrating her ears.

After that, Darcy seldom hung around the bleachers and preferred to hang out behind the snack bar, seeing as how it was less crowded back there.

Right now, being surrounded by a mass of panicking, screaming people, Darcy mentally scolds her high school self for being such a wimp. High School Homecoming was _nothing_ compared to right now!

The girl barely had time to get a good handle on the current situation before Trisha dragged her down the stairwell, following the crowd. As Darcy was shoved, punched, elbowed, and nearly pushed down the stairs a couple times, the brunette realized she still didn't realize what the heck was going on!

There were a few things Darcy understood for sure.

1: A bomb had went off and Erik was close to the explosion site. Like, _really_ close. So close that Darcy nearly had a heart attack when she saw her friend's bloody, limp body near what used to be a wall.

2: Rosie was behind it all. She orchestrated the bombings, she knew that this was going to happen, and she was doing this to satisfy her sick, twisted need for revenge against Charles Hix. Granted, Darcy could understand where she was coming from, but this was just plain crazy.

3: If by some chance Ian was anyway involved in this, and he wasn't already injured in some way, he was going to damn well wish he was.

Due to the present situation, however, she couldn't exactly focus on the rage she felt for her boyfriend. Although, there was one question that nagged at her brain.

"So, where exactly are we heading?"

"My dad's personal laboratory."

"Personal laboratory? What the hell is that?"

"I don't know. He doesn't let me get close enough to it to find out."

Amidst the screams of panic and someone shoving her in the back of the head in an attempt to get out of the building faster, Trisha's words managed to register in Darcy's mind, but something just didn't make sense.

"Wait, if he doesn't let you get close enough to the lab, how do you know where—?"

The stairwell beneath their feet shook violently as a loud bang followed by a new wave of terrified shrieks echoed throughout the hallways. Darcy and Trisha and just about everyone on the stairwell was thrown forward and Darcy winces as she lands on a lab assistant and hears a distinct, and somewhat sickening, cracking sound. She unintentionally broke either one rib or more. Before she can apologize, however, Trisha is dragging her to her feet (the blonde is not as conscious as to if she steps on anyone or brakes anyone's bones as Darcy is) and down the next flight of stairs.

"We have to go before this place gets to crowded."

"What the hell do you call what we're walking on?" A slight mis-step and another crack and cry of pain and Darcy winces. She just broke a secretary's arm. "Sorry!"

Another loud bang and a slightly less violent shaking later and Darcy and Trisha are thrown to the ground once again, along with anyone else who had been standing up at the time. Darcy manages to catch herself on the railing, but Trisha is sent flying down five steps to the ground. This time, there are no bodies to cushion her fall and she groans in pain.

"You ok?"

"I don't know. What's a concussion feel like?" Trisha blinks up at the brunette.

A loud cracking noise catches the girl's attention and they glance up in time to see a chunk of drywall about the size of a rocking chair fall from the wall above them. She's not sure who it is screaming, the secretary who now has a broken arm or herself, but Darcy blinks and suddenly the chunk of drywall is frozen in mid-air, a red aura of energy surrounds it.

Glancing up, Darcy sees Wanda's face contorted in concentration as she twist her hands this way and that. As the Sokovian shouts "Everyone, get to the fire escapes!" Loki appears by her side and Darcy can't tell what Wanda said, but the God gives the Witch a look before extending his arms as well. Within seconds (and a flick of the God's wrist) the chunk of drywall is now a billion little dust particles.

Whoever wasn't on their feet before is now, and the stairwell is starting to feel more like one of those running of the bull things Darcy always heard about on TV.

She glances behind her to see Trisha being stepped on and being kicked toward the next set of stairs. Darcy glances up when Wanda calls her name and meets Loki's eyes. The God is staring at her in a way that makes her stomach do somersaults and Darcy wasn't sure how she felt about that.

She has no more time to ponder that look from the God because her hand is torn from the railing and she is kicked down the next flight of stairs by the huge mass of people trying to get out of the building before the next bomb hits. Darcy thinks she hears Wanda calling after her, but she can't really tell because she's too busy trying to grab onto the railing again while she is repeatedly kicked in the head and back.

Thankfully, she is only kicked down two and a half sets of stairs herself before she manages to stand up again. The majority of the crowd had listened to Wanda and had gone for the nearest fire escape. However, there were people still sticking to the stairs. Apparently, enough of them that Darcy was starting to wonder if she had a concussion herself.

After, slowly, getting to her feet with the help of the railing, Trisha made her way over to Darcy. "Can you go on? You ok?"

 _Go on where?_ Darcy blinked and opened her mouth to say something, what it was she wasn't sure. _Oh right, Rosie…_

"Darcy! Can you keep going?"

"Um… Maybe?"

Trisha gives her the dirtiest look for a second before shrugging and saying, "It'll have to do," before dragging Darcy down the remaining flights of stairs.

The brunette almost swears she hears Wanda and Loki shouting after her, but right now, Darcy has more important things on her mind.

"Hey, quick question, how do you know if you have a concussion?" she asks her blonde friend who seems to know everything.

"You're asking the wrong person."

"I thought you said you study the brain or something…"

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

It did not take Loki long to catch up to the Witch. He is a God after all, although even he acknowledges the fact that her leg isn't exactly up to par.

"What is it you expect to do once you catch up to Darcy Lewis and Trisha Hix?" He says to her once he catches up. The Witch is leaning heavily against the door, leg still bleeding.

"I was hoping to stop Darcy from either killing Rosie or Ian or maybe both. I don't know, day's still young." She pauses, as if realizing who she is talking too, and narrows her eyes at him. "How did you know I was going after Darcy and Trisha?"

"If you wish to play the mind game, little witch, one must learn to conceal ones thoughts. Anyone could guess your intentions just by reading your face and body language." Loki glances at the once yellow scarf on her leg. "Well, whatever little body language they are physically capable of showing."

Loki doesn't even have to read her mind, or her face to know she is thinking some unkind thoughts about him.

"Why do you care? Shouldn't you be back in your handcuffs by now?"

He can't help but smirk. "Shouldn't you be doing your civic duty as an Avenger and helping these poor civilians to safety instead of blindly limping off after your friends?"

The witch glares at him before sighing. "Fine. Truce, however temporary it is. Now, unless you want to stand there and be useless, we need to catch up to Darcy."

"And what makes you believe you can order me around, witch?"

It is her who smirks this time. "Because, while I am not a fan of Tony Stark, I still like him better than you and I am particularly impressed by his fighting style from New York. So unless you want me to blast you out that window over there," she nods to a window on his left, "than you might want to follow my lead. After all, I _am_ an Avenger."

He narrows his eyes at her, but gestures for her to lead the way. After a quick inhale to steady herself (her scarf is looking redder by the minute), the Witch leads the way into the stairwell.

The two of them were at the tail-end of the crowd, so they are basically following the mass down the first few stairs when the second bomb goes off. The Witch is sent forward but catches herself on the wall, while Loki merely loses his balance for a second as the building shakes. The people around them fall to the ground.

The Witch glances around, as a sort of self-assurance that they're both in one piece, before slowly making her way over the fallen bodies, down the steps.

"Where exactly are we heading?" Loki asks. He attempts to step over as many people as he can, but gives up the effort when his heel accidentally lands on some poor fellows' hand.

"From what I could gather, downstairs."

"Where downstairs?"

"There's only so much I can gather from a distance, Loki."

The God stops for a second before reaching out and yanking the Witch around to face him. "You mean to tell me you don't even know where you're leading us too!"

"I know that if we follow Darcy and Trisha, we'll be there." The Witch snaps back. "Now unless you have a better idea, I suggest we get going before these people realize they can stand up again."

The God reluctantly follows after the Witch, realizing that he really has no better plan than follow-the-leader.

They, amazingly, make it down the next three sets of stairs before the third bomb goes off and the building shakes once again, though not as violently as the last time. " _Důmnezeů a tůtůror draců_! How many bombs did she put in this building?!"

Loki glances at the Witch. "Her?"

"Rosie."

"Rosie…?"

The Witch looks a bit sheepish. "I'm not entirely sure. She was the most immediate name I could find in Darcy's mind. Besides Ian and her various plans of murder of said man…"

A loud cracking noise coming from right above them causes the Witch and God to look up just in time to see a large chunk of drywall start to fall. Loki can detect Darcy Lewis's panicked shriek among the many in the crowd and, just for a moment, an unsteady, cold feeling settles in his stomach. The Witch is quicker to react and is able to use her powers to stop the drywall from crushing the people. However, judging by the look on her face, Loki can easily assume it is taking whatever little control she has over her powers to do just that. "Everyone, get to the fire escapes!"

Loki is on his feet in seconds and is studying the hovering mass of concrete in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see the Witch sneering at him. "Well, are you going to stand there like a _tâmpit_ or is there some phrase I have to say to get you to use your magic?"

The God gives her a look before calmly asking "Are you giving me permission to use my magic, Miss Maximoff?"

Biting back a comment, the Witch nods. Loki extends his arm, concentrates his thoughts, and with a flick of his wrist the block of concrete is nothing but dust particles. Obviously, that was enough to let the mass of panicking people realize they were safe. Humans were fleeing from the stairs as fast as they could, not particularly caring for who they stepped on in their mad rush to get out. The God then makes the mistake of looking down.

He sees Darcy Lewis and her blue, blue eyes first. _She could have been crushed,_ Loki thinks. _She could have been crushed had the Witch and I not been here._ The thought was unsettling in a way the God couldn't quite identify.

Out of the corner of his eyes (that just can't seem to be torn away from the haunting blue ones below him) he notices Trisha Hix being stepped on and kicked along towards the next set of stairs. The Witch calls out her name just as Darcy Lewis loses her grip on the railing. Unbidden, her name slips from his lips and he worries for a second if the Witch had heard.

Whether she did or not, the Witch is limping as fast as she can down the steps. The crowd had, surprisingly, listened to her and had made their way to the nearest fire escape as soon as they could. Of course, there were the select few that had decided to continue down the stairs and, as such, enough to keep Trisha Hix and Darcy Lewis tumbling down the stairs (Loki could speak from a somewhat similar past experience, that those two would be _sore_ by morning).

Halted by the crowd and the Witch's injury, Loki could only watch as Darcy and Trisha ran out of sight, albeit a bit wobbly on their feet. Once the crowd had thinned and she had steadied herself again, the Witch led the way once again. The temporary duo just barley managing to keep up with Darcy and Trisha (although, considering the conditions of the situations, it is still an impressive feat).

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

If the stairway was crazy, then the entrance way was pure hell.

Darcy had only a moment, maybe lasting seven-and-a-half seconds at the best, but considering how slow everything was moving, she saw enough (again, the slight-probable-concussion was working against her).

Darcy saw about ten people being half-dragged, half-carried towards the door that she couldn't tell if they were dead or not. A majority of the people had injuries ranging from some cuts and bruises to missing feet and arm to… well, lethal. Darcy thought she saw Natasha running towards the door, but when the woman passes, she saw it wasn't her friend.

The wail of sirens and the screams of pain and agony reminded Darcy somewhat of Puete Antiguo, of Greenwich, and (worst of all) Sokovia.

Suddenly, images of Pietro Maximoff's body, littered with bullet holes flashed into her mind. _"You didn't see that coming?"_ his voice echoed in her head.

 _It's all your fault…_ Darcy thought, guilt over taking her.

"Act now, think later. C'mon!" Trisha scolded, dragging her away from the entrance and towards the door they had seen earlier. The single white door against a burgundy wall. In black letters the word _'AUTHORIZED PERSONAL ONLY'_ are written on top of the door, no one seems to be rushing out from that direction.

" _So, where exactly are we heading?"_

" _My dad's personal laboratory."_

" _Personal laboratory? What the hell is that?"_

" _I don't know. He doesn't let me get close enough to it to find out."_

Warning bells go off inside her head. Something doesn't feel right. Yet, there wasn't much Darcy could do about it now.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

The sight that greeted Loki was pure chaos. And just as in New York a few weeks ago, Loki is a bit peeved that he isn't the one who caused it.

The God glances over at the Witch and finds her looking rather pale and weak. Glancing down, he sees there's only a bit of yellow left on that scarf, the rest is bright red. "Can you continue?"

The Witch gives him a look. "Yeah, right. Like this is going to stop me…" She gestures tiredly to her leg and Loki frowns.

"That does little to reassure me,"

"Wasn't supposed to." She nods towards the door at the far end of the room, the one marked _'AUTHORIZED PERSONAL ONLY'_. "They went that way… I heard something about Hix's lab. His personal one, I think."

"He has many a labs not even five floors up. Why would he need his own?" The God wonders aloud.

Wanda shrugs and lazily starts to jog ahead of him. "Well, we'll probably find out in a minute."

Upon reaching the door, Loki and Wanda realize it's locked and that Trisha must have had an access key (daughter of the CEO, after all). Loki glances at the door and insists that he be the one to open it with his magic, considering how readily the Witch agrees, the God can only assume she more tired than she lets on.

After a quick spell, the duo hear the sound of the lock breaking and push their way through the doors. As opposed to the warm, somewhat polluted air of the rest of the building, the air on the other side of the door is cool and clean.

Warning bells go off in their heads.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Silence is what greets them on the other side of the door.

To their left is a grey wall made of smooth-faced bricks, to their right they see out into the city streets and the hundreds of law officials and medical assistants trying to help the victims and survivors alike. Confused on how no one seems to notice the two of them, Wanda waves her hand a few times. No one glances up.

She looks at Loki, "Two-way mirrors?"

He is just as confused as her.

Behind them, the door slams shut. Ahead of them, the dimly lit hallway expands in a way that seems unending. As if the three previous bombings had little to no effect to this area what so ever.

Wanda attempts to search for Trisha and Darcy's thoughts, but cannot hear anything. Loki tries to concentrate on any abnormal sounds that might alert him to Darcy Lewis's presence, but hears nothing.

"How did they get so far ahead of us?"

Loki gives the Witch a look, but decides not to say anything as she leads the way again.

Upon reaching the end of the hall, they find another door that, strangely, was not locked. Loki and Wanda might know little of the Hix family, but they seem to be the cautious type. The kind of family that doesn't just have one door feebly locked while the other is left wide open.

The God glances at his wrist and the indentations his handcuffs have left. Hopefully, the adamantium has not damaged his abilities as much as Loki fears they did. Cautiously, he opens the door and beckons the Witch to follow him.

" _Ce, děláš si srandu_?" The Witch looks as if she's about ready to flop to the ground and call it quits at the sight of another massive staircase. Loki rolls his eyes and continues down the stairs, leaving the Witch no other choice but to follow him.

As they make their way down the stairs, once again, Loki glances around. _This seems so much more secluded, cleaner than the rest of the Industry,_ he thinks, _why? What could possibly need such seclusion and cleanliness that Hix has to go to this length to get it?_

After about ten minutes (ten years to them both, it seems) on the stairs, they come to another door that looks as if it was blown off of its hinges. The duo pauses.

"Can you see or hear anything in there that might be troublesome?" Loki asks as he and the Witch crouch down.

She holds up a finger, indicating for him to wait a moment, before glancing towards the door. A flash of red in her eyes and a nod or two later and the Witch frowns. "No people in the immediate room. Think I heard a couple people a few rooms down, though."

"Darcy Lewis and Trisha Hix?"

"I couldn't tell."

Loki nods and glances at the broken door hinges. "No sense in turning back now."

Each of them take a breath to steel themselves before quickly barging through the doors. Only to freeze at what they find in the room.

One hundred gurneys line the room on each side, all unoccupied. By each gurney is a moving table and IV Stand with a clipboard on each table. In the far back corner, a little glass cubicle with the word _'HAZARD'_ printed across it in bright yellow stands out. Curiosity winning over, Wanda slowly limps toward the cubicle, only to find it unlocked and the computer running.

Not wanting to break any more rules than she already has, the Witch leans in and narrows her eyes at the computer screen. "What does it say?" Loki asks, curiously.

"Something about Serum A-12 being close to max production stage."

"What does that mean?"

"It doesn't really say that much. Just that the, uh, _Project_ , I think it says, will be complete before July 17 of… this year." Something about that didn't bode well with the two of them.

A shouting noise and a soft rumble from the next room over remind the two what they really came down here to do. Quickly (or as quickly as they can, at least), Loki and Wanda head for the other door. Throwing it open just in time to see a man wearing a black ski mask raise his gun to Trisha Hix.

Wanda throws out her arm and the mask man is sent flying to the other side of the room. Another masked man charges out from the back corner of the room towards Darcy. Loki runs after and slams the man into the ground, delivering a punch to the face while he's at it. The masked man knees Loki in the stomach and uses that as a way to tackle him to the ground and start punching him.

Before it could go on to long, however, the masked man is surrounded by a red aura and thrown against the far wall. Wanda appears and offers him a hand up, which Loki refuses. As he gets to his feet, Loki notices a quick flash of red light. Glancing around, he notices several black boxes placed around the ceiling, all flashing red every few seconds.

Until, that is, a loud beep is heard and the red light turns green. Loki's eyes widened and he turns to see Darcy Lewis helping Trisha to her feet.

"Darcy, look out!"

Their eyes meet as the fourth bomb goes off.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Darcy and Trisha were thrown against the back wall as another explosion broke the silence in the room. Loki was able to shield Wanda from the blast. Though the Witch was the first to call out for her friends.

Once the dust cleared, Loki could see a rather large pile of what he thinks was once the ceiling blocking a majority of their path. Still, he was able to hear a sort of coughing sound. It didn't take him long to find Darcy—the source of the coughing—lying against the wall, covered in dust. Trisha was saying something to her, but he couldn't hear what it was over the ringing in his ears.

Glancing around, he saw the two men Wanda threw against the far wall lying underneath a large pile of rubble. They were both very still.

Darcy shook the blonde girl off and used the wall to support her as she stood up. "Darcy, you're head!" Trisha's concerned voice made it through. Loki then noticed the long cut stretching across her forehead, staining it and some of her hair with blood.

Red was an ugly color for her.

The brunette placed her hand to her forehead before tentatively bringing it into her own line of vision. "Are you ok?" Trisha asks.

"I'm fine. Let's go!" Glancing around, Darcy spots the first two guards who confronted them and sees them lying unconscious on the ground (thanks to _Electabuzz_ and Trisha's pepper-spray and quick thinking). Two guns lie next to them. Darcy, still shaken by the last explosion (and all of them, honestly) slowly walks towards the guards and scoops up the guns, offering one to Trisha.

The blonde shakes her head vehemently. "I can't work a gun; I've never fired one in my entire life!"

"Ah, for God's sake," Darcy rolls her eyes. Growing up in a small, country town in Michigan, hunting was a big part of Darcy's childhood. Most of the men (and the women) in her family hunted, her neighbors hunted, her friends hunted, family friends hunted, and Darcy could remember a good twenty-five percent of her teachers bragging about their latest Buck or Tom or Jake to other teachers and staff members.

So when someone says they don't know how to work a gun, Darcy couldn't help but remember the snobby girls whom used to loathe her, the ones who would have a fit if their nail polish so much as chipped let alone if they told to work a gun.

Her fingers curl around the trigger of one gun. It's different than the ones she used growing up. Smaller, more light-weight than anything. Not as much tension in the trigger, either.

Closing her eyes, Darcy allows her brother and grandfather's tips and tricks to enter her mind.

Opening them, she secures the other gun in her grasp (who knows how many bullets the other one has) before turning to Trisha. "Lead the way,"

The two girls run off, momentarily forgetting about the Witch and God who followed them in.

Wanda frowns. "I just heard Trisha's thoughts, we're not that far from the lab. Just a couple more stairs now."

Loki glances around and spots a place towards the far left wall where the rubble isn't as extensive. If he can clear a path, he and the Witch might be able to climb over and follow after the girls.

Hauling the Witch to her feet, Loki tells her to cover his back as he clears a path for them. Slowly at first, unsure of how stable the new "floor" is, Loki moves as much rubble in and out of place as he can.

Just as he reaches the center, a loud snap is heard and something in his shoulder starts to sting. Glancing down, he sees a bullet pierce the wall beside him and there is a cut in his shoulder.

As four masked men approach, Wanda slowly raises her arm (the other one supporting her weight against the rubble) and Loki glances down at a long piece of fiberglass beside his foot. Not wanting to drain his magic, he picks it up.

 _As good of a dagger as any I suppose…_

A scrawny looking man raises his gun and shoots another bullet at Loki, but Wanda deflects it. Whatever little energy she has left however, Loki notices, is starting to fade.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

The final hallway is long and winding, filled with two small staircases that lead up to a grand one at the bottom. Trisha holds up her hand and brings a finger to her mouth, telling Darcy to be quiet. As the two move further and further down the hallway, the lights become dimmer until there's little to no light at all.

Darcy's tempted to bring out her phone and use the flashlight app on it, but decides to just make do with the flickering bank of lights above her.

As the two reach the final staircase, Darcy spots a large metal door at the end. Two guards lay lifeless on the floor, surrounded by a pool of blood. "What were those two doing here?"

"Guarding the door."

 _Obviously,_ Darcy shakes her head. "Yeah, but why?"

Trisha pauses on the steps to think for a moment before simply turning to Darcy and shrugging. "Beats me…"

The brunette narrows her eyes. _Trisha just can't seem to make up her mind_ , she thinks. _One minute, she's leading me to her dad's secret lab and the next she claims she has no idea what's going on._

As the two reach the bottom, Trisha rushes over to check the guards. At first, Darcy thinks she's just checking to see if there alive ( _fool's mission, but it's the thought that counts_ ), but then Darcy sees that she's merely searching one of the guards for something. Muttering a string of curses, she stands up.

"His pass-key is missing. All the guards down here get pass-keys and his is missing." Trisha leans over and digs around in the other guard's pocket.

Darcy's nose wrinkles. "What in the hell are you doing?"

"He's dead anyway!" The blonde smiles triumphantly when she produces a small black card from the guard's pocket. Walking over to the scanner by the door, Trisha adds "It's not like he'll be using it anymore."

While she still finds some truth in it, Darcy can't help but get a sick feeling in her stomach at the thought of how casually Trisha was able to rifle through a dead guy's pocket.

A loud beep that makes both girls cringe sounds off above the door before the girls here the unmistakable sound of a large, deadbolt lock slide out of place. Trisha carefully pushes the door open as Darcy readjusts her grip on the guns.

The next (and pray to God, final) hallway they step into is all white. Ceiling, floor, lights, even the massive staircase in front of them is white. The girls pause a minute, both to make sure the door closes quietly behind them and to give their eyes time to adjust.

" _Hurry up, Smellweather!"_

" _My name is_ Bellweather _and I'm going as fast as I can, you harpy."_

Both girls glance at each other, crouching as low to the ground as possible. Darcy slowly, carefully sets the guns on the floor by the first step as Trisha starts to crawl up the steps. Darcy follows suit, pressing herself as close to the stairs as physically possible. Once close enough to the top, they stretch up to get a better look at the situation.

There's a set of double-walled steel doors towards the far wall. In front of said doors, two men in black ski masks fiddle with some wires and boxes. One grumbling in frustration while the other seems to be helping as much as possible while simultaneously trying to stay out of the way. In front of them, a woman in a black ski mask paces back and forth impatiently in front of a man wearing what was once a nice, clean suit. The man in the suit has his hands bound behind his back and is on his knees.

Trisha quickly pulls back down and Darcy follows a second later.

"What is it? Is that your dad?" Darcy whispers.

Trisha nods and frowns, worried. "We might need to get some help."

"You say that _now_?!" Darcy shakes her head but then remembers something. "Loki and Wanda followed us. They're back at the last explosion site. I'll just go run and—"

"No! You can't,"

"Why not?"

"I don't know how to work a gun, remember? I can't help my daddy this way." Trisha exhales. "Look, I'll go run and find Wanda and Loki. You stay here and try to stop Rosie."

" _How_?"

"You know how to work a gun?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, you already have a better idea of how to do it than me."

A loud snap startles the girls. "Careful with that wire, Longley."

"Sorry, Bellweather…"

Trisha nods towards the door at the bottom of the stairs. "I'll go get Wanda and Loki. You stay here and try to help my daddy."

 _Easier said than done…_ Darcy thinks as Trisha slowly back-crawls down the steps.

"How long does it take to crack a code?" A female voice snaps. Darcy turns her attention back to the four people in front of the door. She is brandishing a small pistol in her hand and gesturing towards the door.

"You think you can hack into that door?" Hix sneers.

The female whirls around and Darcy's mouth falls open. A skin-tight _Batman_ tank top is clinging to her form, covered in sweat and dust. Darcy can just see little wisps of dark-brown hair peeking out from underneath the mask.

"Let us in. Charlie." At the female's demand, Darcy inwardly curses.

It's Rosie Hernandez.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

As Rosie attempts to intimidate Hix into letting her and her colleague's into the room. Darcy backtracks and slowly makes her way to the guns she left at the bottom of the staircase. Once there, she carefully picks up one gun and slides the safety off, ignoring the trail of bright red that is flowing down the side of her nose and down her cheek. As she reaches for the other gun, Darcy finds it missing. She pauses, _I brought two guns with me, didn't I?_

"I said, let us in, Charlie!"

Darcy can all but hear the confidence oozing out of Hix at this point. "I know you won't shoot me. I'm the only one here who knows the information, the only one who knows that code. You won't shoot me."

"There are… _Other_ places to shoot you. Not just in the head." Darcy hears rather than sees Rosie shoot Hix. She squeezes her eyes shut as Hix's screams fill the area. He might be one creepy S-O-B, but Darcy doesn't relish in his pain.

"Let us in, _Charlie_."

Through gritted teeth, Hix snarls "Never!"

The man, Bellweather, scoffs. "Forget it, let's just blow the door off its hinges and get the serums ourselves."

The sound that came out of Rosie as she slapped that Bellweather guy across the face was less groan of frustration, more animalistic sound of anger. "Dammit it you blockhead, don't you remember anything from briefing this morning? We blow that door up and the security system will be set off and then _none_ of us will make it inside!"

 _Security system?_ Coming down here, Darcy had Trisha's expertise and security card (and the one guard's pass-key) so she was a bit surprised to hear Hix normally had one in place. What caught Darcy's attention the most, though, was the phrase "none of us will make it inside".

How bad could a simple security system be?

"That's right," Hix said, "I'm the only one who knows the code." Rosie turned around silently and Hix was able to let out a low chuckle. "You're getting desperate, aren't you Hernandez? All because of those serums and the control panel I've got in there."

 _Serums? Control panel? What in the name of Asgard is he talking about?!_

"You want that technology, and I'm the only one who can give it to you." Hix smirks a bit "Question now is, how desperate are you?"

"Oh, believe me, _Hix_ I had a feeling you might try to stall. Might try to buy yourself sometime so your _precious little daughter_ could come and save you. But trust me, _I came prepared_." She snaps her fingers and Longley digs around in his coat pocket until he fishes out what looks like a case for some eye-glasses. Darcy stares in confusion until Rosie opens the case and pulls out a syringe filled with a blueberry colored liquid.

Hix looks up, suddenly tense. "What's that?"

There's a glint in Rosie's eyes that Darcy just doesn't like. "Remember Serum A-10, Charlie? The one that gave people those sudden terror flashes? Well, not all of them were disposed of. And with a little help from a dear friend of mine, I was able to combine it with another serum. This serum right here blocks off certain receptors in the Frontal Cortex, making it impossible to lie, all while tapping into your Amygdala as to show you your worst fears."

Hix visibly pales and tries to shuffle away, but Rosie grabs him by the collar of his jacket. "Now, we can do this the easy way, or the fun way…"

Hix says nothing, but he doesn't try to pull away either. Rosie shrugs and happily chirps "Have it your way." The older man gasps when Rosie jabs the needle into his neck. As the Latina presses the plunger down, Darcy notices Hix start to tremble and shiver. Pressing herself closer to the stairs, Darcy braces herself. Whatever that serum does, she assumes it can't be good.

Finally, Hix suddenly stops, his eyes flicker shut and he slumps over. With a twisted smile, Rosie tosses Hix to the ground. He slides a bit and suddenly he is at the top of the steps, so close that if Darcy wanted to, she could reach out and touch the top of his head. For a moment, Darcy fears Rosie will follow him, but she stays put.

When he opens his eyes wide, his gaze meeting hers, he screams. Darcy is frozen in fear. _He's seen me,_ she thinks in a panic _¸ he sees me and now I'm dead meat!_

But he continues to scream, shuffling his body in a blind panic away from her. Only after he is far enough away from her that he is not screaming in her face, Darcy realizes his gaze in unfocused, staring at empty air. Whatever Rosie just injected him with, it terrifies him to no end.

Rosie kneels behind him and grabs his shoulders, stopping him from retreating from whatever he is seeing. "Charlie, I can make it stop, but you have to tell me how to get into your lab! Hear me?"

Hix glances forward, panting. His eyes aren't focused on her, but rather, something above Darcy's head. "Don't! No, don't, stop!" he shouts, lunging forward toward whatever phantom fear he is seeing. Rosie grabs him by the shoulders of his jacket and, with all her strength, pins him to the ground. "Please, don't do it—"

"I'll stop them from doing it if you tell me how to get in!"

"Her!" Hix says, tears gleaming in his eyes. "The-the code the-the name—"

"Whose name?"

" _Her_ name!"

"Whose name?!"

"We're running out of time!" Bellweather snaps. "Either you get that name or we kill him and blow that door—"

"Shut up, _Smellweather_!" Rosie shrieks before turning back to Hix, shaking him a bit. "Whose name?"

Hix twists his body free and is able to get to his knees, he nods toward the stairs. " _Her_ name, it's her name!" He nods towards the stairs. Towards Darcy.

The brunette springs up, gun ready. She fires three times. The first one hits Longley in the knee, the second hits the wall by Bellweather, and the third grazes Rosie's shoulders. Bellweather reaches into his own jacket and pulls out a small pistol and fires twice at Darcy, but she hit the floor before he could even get the safety off.

"Hold your fire!" Rosie orders, crouching down by Hix. Darcy pops up a second time and her aim is better. Hitting Bellweather in the shoulder. "Darcy, wait!"

She freezes, gun trained on the Latina. Panting, she asks "Why?"

"Trust me, Darcy… you don't want to do this."

"So you're saying I _don't_ want to shoot you right now? Wow, you're really bad at this…"

"This goes deeper than you know, deeper than I told you."

"Give me one reason why I should trust you!"

"Because you can either trust me or Hix." Darcy furrows her brows and her gaze flicks to Hix for the briefest of seconds. "Believe me, Darcy. Hix is just as bad as I am, maybe even worse. I'm the good guy here!"

Blue eyes meet brown and the situation falls into place. On one hand, Hix is planning to sell a potentially dangerous weapon to some unknown organization. On the other, Rosie could just be making that up. She could have just made that up as a way to justify this hare-brained scheme. Hix had said she wanted the serums and was desperate. If Rosie really wanted to destroy the serums, she wouldn't be so desperate as to blow up a building for it.

"Yeah, well, that's not saying much." Darcy frowned and raised her gun, firing it off once. The bullet flew and hit Rosie in the hip and she was sent falling back to the ground. She looped one arm under Hix, pointed her gun at his head. Making sure he was mostly in front of her, Darcy started to back up, pointing her other gun at Rosie and her colleagues.

Darcy ignored the fact that she was using Hix as a human shield and shouted "Anyone tries anything funny, and I'll shoot!"

"You don't know what you're doing—" Rosie calls out, voice laced with pain.

"You're probably right but that's never stopped me before." Pressing the barrel of her gun to Hix's head, Darcy starts to back up, being careful not to fall down the stairs. Noticing Longley pulling out his own gun, Darcy narrows her eyes.

"Fire, and I shoot him!"

"You wouldn't shoot your own boss," Longley sneers.

"He's not my boss. I give absolutely zero fucks as to if he lives or dies. But if you think I'm going to stand here and let you get ahold of whatever's behind that door, you're nuts!"

Darcy starts to slowly make her way down the stairs, with Hix whimpering in front of her, still under the influence of whatever Rosie injected him with. Said Latina grounds out "You're making a mistake!"

Darcy only shrugs. "Story of my life, sweetheart."

She's about halfway down the stairs when Longley calls her bluff and shoots. Darcy is able to duck out of the way, but Hix is hit in the thigh. As he goes down, Darcy blindly fires her gun. She thinks she hears the bullet hit something, but can't tell what it is.

"Ugh, forget this bullshit!" Bellweather shouts. Darcy hears him smack something against the wall. "I'm getting us into that lab, whether Hix gives us the code or not!"

"No, Bellweather, stop!" Rosie screams.

The fifth and final bomb goes off and Darcy and Hix are sent flying. Darcy crashed to the ground first, Hix (who landed on top of her) crushing her. As she fell, she heard a loud snap and what sounded like something spraying out of an aerosol can. That's when the smell of chlorine and spice hit her, and she started hacking.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

The next few strings of bullets that come their way, Wanda easily deflects with a flick of her wrist. As she does, Loki is able to sneak around and take care of the first masked man. The second one tackles him from behind, forcing him to drop his make shift dagger.

The masked man pulls him into a choke hold but Loki is ready, swinging his arm back, his elbow connects with the man's hip. With the hold on his neck loosened, Loki falls to the ground. The God kicks the masked man's feet out from underneath him. Once his attacker is on the ground, the God delivers a swift kick to the man's head.

"Loki, watch out!" The Witch shouts. It is old instincts that cause him to duck. Glancing up, he sees a blast of red energy soar over his head and the third masked man getting slammed into the wall. He glances back in time to see the Witch fall to her knees, her face white.

He reaches over and grabs his make shift dagger and launches it at the scrawny man's leg, causing him to double over in pain, before making his way over to the Witch. Hauling her to a pile of rubble, he is able to place her in a situation. "Are you positive you can continue?"

She pants, "How bad is it?"

He motions her to wait a moment as he unties the scarf that is now soaked through with blood. After untying the knot and discarding said scarf, Loki winces. That glass shard had cut the Witch deep. He's not entirely sure, but he thinks he sees bone.

"I'll need stiches right?"

"Well, you've made it this far…" Loki glances up and realize that if she continues, the Witch will pass out due to blood loss or worse due to infections. "I might be able to heal some of it, not all of it though." He may be a God, but he can't _heal_ everything. Especially in his current state

The Witch, understanding his request, nods tiredly. He places a hand over the gash and concentrates. Within a minute, he feels the little indents in his skin from the adamantium start to burn, forcing him to stop. Glancing at it, Loki is somewhat impressed with himself. What was once a gash is now just a rather long cut. Stiches might be needed, but it is a much needed improvement. Although, considering her scarf is no longer an option, they will have to find a make shift bandage.

The Witch's cry alerts him a second to late as a thick wire wraps around his neck. Loki's hands fly to his neck as he tries to reach behind and grab his attacker's wrist. The Witch raises her hands, struggling to keep going after nearly collapsing.

However, a bullet to the scrawny man's shoulder halts the process. The God and Witch turn to see Trisha Hix, gun aimed at the scrawny man. "Duck!" she shouts to Loki.

He is able to twist away in time to avoid the second bullet that lodges in the scrawny man's other shoulder. The Witch nods her approval, "Good aim,"

Trisha smiles "Thanks."

Loki blinks at her. "Wasn't Darcy Lewis with you?"

The blonde nearly drops her gun. "I almost forgot. I need your guys' help!"

The scrawny man groans. "Ah, son of a bitch, that bloody hurts!"

Loki and Trisha can only watch as Wanda's face slowly morphs from pained determination to furious realization. "Ian?" She whispers. Just as before, Loki can feel the energy in the air. Tense and electrified, as if the Witch is about to snap. Out of the corner of his eyes, he can see a few tiny pieces of rubble begin to glow red and hover in the air.

"Oh no,"

"What?" Trisha asks.

Loki glances around and spots a large chunk of drywall a few feet behind him. "Get behind that," he tells her.

"Why?"

"Oh, you'll find out."

"Ian Boothby?" Wanda asks, a bit louder this time. She, carefully, makes her way over to the man and yanks his mask off. Loki and Trisha glance at him. Loki recognizes him briefly from his moments of observing Thor a few years prior, but that is all he knows. "What the hell are you doing here?!" Wanda grounds out.

Ian has the decency to look sheepish. "Um… helping Rosie?"

Loki and Trisha are lucky enough to have ducked behind the drywall when they did. A loud snap and pulse of red later, and the energy in the room is gone. Loki, however, spots a long cable hovering in the air, surrounded by a red aura. Suddenly it snaps forward, one end wrapping around this Ian fellow's wrists and the other wrapping around an exposed pipe.

Ian himself is looking a little worse for the wear. The Witch glares at him and growls "We are _not_ finished here!" and goes to stomp away, but doubles back and swiftly slaps him across the face. Adding "That was for Darcy," before slapping him again, harder this time and adding, "That was for me…"

As the Witch stomps/limps away from the now groaning Ian Boothby, Loki raises a brow. "I trust you are feeling better?"

" _Zavři to, tu cal iubitor de curvă. Eu vám ublíží!_ " The Witch growled. The smirk fought its way onto Loki's face, but he somehow resisted the urge.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

With some help from Trisha and her lab coat, Wanda's wound is once again bandaged (however temporarily it might be). "Feeling any better?" Trisha asks the Witch.

"Ask me in an hour when I'm not as angry." Getting to her feet, Wanda observes the once pristine white lab coat sleeve tied around her leg. It is starting to stain red, but that is a given. At least it is not as bad as before. "You said you needed some help?"

Trisha looks at them again, suddenly remembering why she came here. "That's right! Darcy and I found Rosie, she and some of her goons are holding my dad hostage!"

Loki is on his feet in an instant. "Hostage? Why?"

"They want the code to get into his secret lab."

Both Loki and Wanda blink in surprise. "Secret lab?"

"We don't have a lot of time! C'mon we need to go." Trisha reloads her gun and turns off the safety before bounding down the hallway. Loki starts to follow, but pauses once he realizes he is not being followed. Confused, he turns to the Witch. "Aren't you coming?"

The Witch's eyes are narrowed at Trisha's retreating form. "She's not telling us the whole truth…"

"How can you tell?"

"I just can."

The God glances down at the blonde, and then again at the Witch. His eyes narrow as well. Loki could tell when someone was telling him the truth, and when someone was lying to him. It was obvious that Trisha was doing just that, but he just couldn't fathom why. Her father was in danger, her father's company all but in ruins, and she had no choice but to leave Darcy Lewis behind to go get help. It just doesn't add up.

"Act now, think later." He advises. The Witch glances at him, curious.

"You didn't notice? God of Lies and all,"

He frowns. "Perhaps I did, perhaps I didn't. Now is not the time to wonder such things." With an air of slight hesitation, Wanda follows after Loki as the two hurry to catch up to Trisha.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

"I don't know what he's got in there, but whatever it is, Rosie wants it." Trisha explains as she leads the duo to the lab. After hearing what little Trisha knew of what was going on, Loki realized two things.

1: Hix wasn't a man with the best sanity in the world.

2: Trisha was lying to him _again_.

Question is, why would she have to? What could she possibly be trying to protect?

"If you don't know what's in it, why are you so desperate to protect it?" The Witch asks

"I trust my daddy. He wouldn't lie to me…"

"It's not your father that should concern you as much on this topic. You said you don't know much about this lab, yet here you are, leading us right to it." Loki points out.

Trisha blanches. "Um… well,"

The three pause just as they reach the door and the two dead guards. Loki's eyes widened slightly in realization. "You know what's in there, don't you?" No answer. "You know about this lab and what's in there and you let Rosie get this far?"

Wanda continues for him "You let her kidnap and threaten your father and you leave Darcy behind to handle it? What is wrong with you?!"

"Ok! I do know some things!" Trisha explains. "But not the whole story… Now, if we could just hurry up and get inside before she does something crazy—"

"No." Wanda says, crossing her arms. "I'm not moving from this spot until you tell me what you know."

"You're kidding me? You do this now,"

"Considering the amount of damage the Witch has endured due to Rosie's plan, not to mention what little magic I have left now, I suggest you start talking if you want our help." Loki says, placing his hands on his hips.

Trisha's eyes dart between the two before she groans in frustration. "Fine! My daddy keeps his most top secret inventions in there. He keeps the stuff he's building for S.H.I.E.L.D. in that lap, alright? And he doesn't want me down here because he has trust issues when it comes to this kinda thing—I blame my mom. But the only reason I know where this place is because my dad used to take me and my brother down here when we were kids as some messed up way of teaching us not to go down here. There, happy?"

"Why wouldn't he want his own kids down here?"

"He has this _intense_ security system down here."

"Security system?" Wanda asks, starting to get suspicious.

"I don't know the exact details, but I do know that if anyone is ever stupid enough to break into this place, they won't exactly be around to tell their story later on…"

The duo's eyes widened at the implications just as they felt another bomb go off, shaking the building and sending them all to the floor. Above them, a loud buzzer goes off and the sound of a lock sliding back into place is heard.

Once she is back on her feet again, Trisha hurriedly makes her way to the lock pad and repeatedly swipes the pass-key, only for nothing to happen. "No! No, no, no, no, no!"

"What's going on? What just happen?"

"The security system's been activated!"

 _I do know that if anyone is ever stupid enough to break into this place, they won't exactly be around to tell their story later on…_ The words echo tauntingly in Loki's head. "We need to get in there, now."

"We can't! It's locked, not even a pass-key will get us in,"

The God bites the inside of his lip before stepping up to examine the lock pad in front of him. "I might be able to break the lock, with what little magic I have left."

"No, that'd be even worse!" Trisha says. "Then the, uh, 'security system' would leak into the halls and well… Bye, bye everyone."

"But Darcy and your father are still inside!" Wanda points out. "The longer we stand here screaming at each other about it, the less likely they'll be ok."

"I remember my daddy telling me that back in one of those labs we ran through, that if I ever needed to shut the security system down, there'd be a safety switch." Trisha snaps her fingers and grabs the gun. "I'll run as fast as I can and go flip the switch. You two, stay _out here_ and wait until I come back."

"But Darcy—"

"Your father—"

"This is our safest option right now." Trisha tells them. She shouts back "Hang tight!" and runs towards the front lab.

Wanda groans in frustration and glances at the door in front of them and then to the lock pad. A resolute look on her face, she turns to Loki and asks "So, were you planning on listening to that order or what?"

Loki glances at her, a bit surprised, but nods. The Witch had basically given him permission, though not in exact words, but he wouldn't complain. Using whatever little magic he has left, he stretches out his arms and closes his eyes. In his mind's eye, he can see the lock system. On any normal instance, the deadbolt would be locked and two wires connecting it to the security pad itself would be operational. However, in the instance of an emergency locking, the two wires are left basically unused. Face contorted in concentration, Loki's hands snap shut and suddenly the wires are not only functioning properly again, but being overused. In no time at all, the security system short circuits and the deadbolt falls out of place, unlocking the door.

Exhausted, Loki allowed the Witch to push past him and to the door. She nudges it and it opens slightly. Glancing back, she ask "Are you positive you can continue?"

The God gives her a dirty look and, though it is a dire situation, Wanda couldn't help but giggle. "I still have some of my magic, Witch. I'd watch who you laugh at." When Loki looks like he isn't going to pass out, the duo exchange a look.

"Ready?" She asks

Loki nods, mouth set in a hard line.

The two push open the door and slip into the room.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

The overwhelming smell of spice and chemicals hits the duo, and almost immediately, their bodies reject it. They glance around the room, coughing and hacking, trying to see anything in the now dimly lit room. The overhead lights glow a disturbing orange color and it hurts their eyes.

Bringing her hands up to cover her mouth, Wanda glances forward and she nearly gasps, but another round of coughs stops her.

"Over… Over there!" She is able to choke out. Loki, now breathing in the scent of his elbow, looks towards the staircase and his burning eyes widen.

Darcy Lewis is sprawled on the last few steps, coughing weakly and body twisted at an odd angle with Hix lying on top of her, hacking and shivering and bleeding.

Loki, not really thinking anything through, starts to run towards Darcy Lewis, but about half-a-step later, the floor shifts from underneath him, and he falls to his side. He hears the Witch shout his name and then hears her fall to the floor as well.

Whatever substance is in the air, it feels thick. It sticks to the skin, making Loki feel hot. The smell is enough to make him dizzy, even if he's trying to breathe in as little as possible, and his lungs scream for clean, fresh air.

Loki glances up again when he hears Darcy Lewis cough. He can't see her chest, but he just seems to know her breath is shallow. Both from the lethal toxin in the air, and having Hix's weight on top of her. He tries to stand up, but it feels as if his bones are made of lead and he falls back down.

 _You should rest_ a voice in his head whispers. _You should just lie down. You need to rest_.

The God shakes his head. Behind him, he can hear the Witch's grunt of effort as she tries to stand up. He can't really make sense of anything else, but all of a sudden, he hears her boot's heels clicking on the tiled floor and he feels her lean against him slightly to steady herself.

 _Just lie down and rest, it'd be nice. Just to close your eyes and… drift away._

As he watches the Witch, slowly, make her ways towards the stairs, Loki is able to push himself up. However, once on his feet again, his head spins and he sees the world tilt on its axis. Hacking once again, he throws out his arms to try and balance himself.

 _You deserve a rest_ , ignoring the voice in his head, Loki throws himself forward and is, somehow, able to blindly stumble towards Darcy Lewis, and the Witch and Hix.

With another loud grunt of effort, Wanda is able to lift Charles Hix off of her friend. Holding back a cough, she nods towards Loki and then Darcy. "Grab-Grab her!"

Biting back another round of coughs himself, Loki leans forward and lifts Darcy Lewis into his arms. The Witch, using what little of her powers she has left at the moment, is able to pick Hix up and slowly make her way to the door, with Loki following her.

As the two exit the room, Loki thinks he hears something similar to a fan being turned on. But ignores it as Wanda uses her body to push open the door and the duo stumble out with Darcy and Hix with them.

Only later will Loki and Wanda remember that Rosie was still in that room as well.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Wanda flops to the floor in a heap, using her powers to set Hix down next to her as Loki crumbles to the floor, making sure little harm comes to Darcy on his way down. Once she sees the God is out of the doorway, the Witch reaches out and kicks the door shut.

They don't really do much of anything for a while after that. The God and Witch merely lie on the floor, greedily taking big gulps of air into their lungs. Relishing in the fact they can breathe again as the toxin's effects slowly wear off.

Besides them, Hix and Darcy seemed to be enjoying the fresh air as well. However, the two were nearly unconscious, so it was a sort of hollow victory.

As he sets Darcy Lewis down on the floor, Loki can see Wanda roll onto her knees and begin to inspect Hix. He is battered, bruised, and there is blood streaming down his hip and both of his legs are bent at an unusual angle. However, he seems to breathing just fine.

Loki glanced down at Darcy. Lying curled around her broken arm on the floor, her head still a bloody mess and coughing from whatever pungent odor was in the room. She seemed… small. More so than usual. He frowned, glancing at her arm.

It was twisted in an odd angle and dipped. No doubt both bones were broken in her forearm. Gently, he grasped her arm—hearing her hiss in pain while she coughed was an ugly sound—before turning to the Witch. "Do I have your permission to use my magic?"

The girl, from her spot next to a barely conscious Hix, eyed him warily. "I suppose so…" He needed no more from her.

Carefully, Loki took Darcy's arm and extended it. Darcy made a weak sound of pained protest, but said nothing more. Exhaling, he closed his eyes and focused on one of the earliest healing spells he learned. With one hand gently holding her wrist, Loki used his other hand and gently trailed his fingers up and down Darcy's arm. After a minute, the girl relaxed into Loki's touch, letting out what sounded like a sigh of content, but again, with all the coughing it was hard to tell. Wanda, meanwhile, could only watch on in curiosity.

After a few more minutes, her arm completely healed and Loki now out of the energy he needed to use magic, the God released his hold on the girl and slowly let her arm fall back to her body, yet he didn't move from his spot. Darcy, still coughing, slowly flexed her arm. Twisting it this way and that, stretching it out and then bending it, testing to see if it was really healed. She slowly propped herself up, Loki's hand on her back steadying her as she glanced up.

"Thank you… I guess." The girl replied weakly before she doubled over in another fit of coughs. Loki frowned. The gash in her forehead from the explosion was bleeding heavily, the blood dripping down the side of her forehead and running along the side of her nose and under her eyes.

Her icy blue eyes. Her fiery blue eyes.

How could one pair of eyes hold such contradictions?

Darcy Lewis exhaled tiredly and rolled onto her side. Noticing her eyes begin to droop, a shot of irrational panic ran through Loki. "Don't." He told her. "Don't fall asleep,"

"Tired…" She mumbled and burrowed her head into his lap. Panic and another feeling he couldn't identify shot through Loki. Beside him, Wanda's eyes widened in shock.

"Wanda! Loki!"

The two glanced up to see Natasha, Trisha, a few S.H.I.E.L.D, agents, and a couple of paramedics rush towards them. Trisha gasped tearfully at the sight of her father lying on the ground.

"Daddy!" she ran towards her father. Wanda scooted back to give the blonde room. Trisha knelt down and pressed her hand to her father's cheek. "Daddy, daddy can you hear me?"

Hix blinked his eyes open. "S-Susan?"

Trisha shook her head, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. "No, Daddy it's me. Trisha, your daughter. Remember?"

"You died…"

"No, daddy that was mom. I'm Trisha. Your daughter!"

"Oh… How nice…" The man offered a weak, tired smile before his eyes fluttered shut. Trisha repeatedly began to call out for her father until one of the paramedics pushed her out of the way and began to inspect Hix's wounds.

Another paramedic crouched down and did the same to the now unconscious Darcy. In Loki's opinion, the man was being a bit rougher than he needed to be.

"Are they going to be ok?" Natasha asked. Wanda only now realized the former assassin's head was bandaged.

"Well," the paramedic by Hix says, "both of his legs are broken, he's got a black eye, and a gunshot to the hip. However, nothing looks lethal. But, his breathing is a little shallow…"

"She'll need stiches on her forehead and by the looks of things she _might_ have a bruised rib," Loki and Wanda cringe at the memory of Darcy and Trisha being kicked down the stairs, "and her breathing is a bit shallow to. I think it would be best if we get them both to a hospital as quick as we can."

Natasha nods and turns to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents behind her. Snapping her fingers she points at Hix and Darcy. They nod and walk over to wear they lay. It takes two agents to lift Hix off the ground, one's arms wrapped under the CEO's shoulders, and the other taking careful hold of his now broken legs. The other agent merely walks over and scoops up Darcy as if she weighs nothing at all. Loki makes a face at how limp Darcy Lewis appears in the agent's arms.

With the paramedics and Trisha following close behind, the agents quickly make their way out of the room.

Natasha steps forward and glances down at Loki and Wanda curiously. "Alright you two, I need to know now before things get crazy; what happened?"

Loki and Wanda blink up at the redhead, for a moment not really understanding what she means, but after Wanda gives a tiny little cough do the two finally realize what they just did. Hesitantly, they glance back at the door.

"Wanda? Loki?" Natasha asks. "What happened?"

 _What's in the lab?_ The God and Witch wonder.

"You guys, what happened?"

 _Why was Rosie so desperate to get it?_

"Wanda? Loki?" Natasha asks, hesitantly.

 _Why was Hix so desperate to keep it in the lab?_

"Wanda? Loki? _What happened_?" Natasha repeated. However, the more times she had to asks, the less and less she wanted to know the answer.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 **And that's the end of the 2** **nd** **Arc. This turned out longer than I expected. Go me!**

 **Anyway, I should (hopefully) be able to update more frequently now because today was my very last day of high school. However, I still have to do college orientation, graduation crap, and then I still have my part-time job to think about. However, I don't think that'll effect it that much s I should probably be able to update frequently this summer.**

 **And before you ask, no. I haven't seen** _ **Captain America: Civil War**_ **yet. However, I and a few friends are going to go see it this Thursday. I mentioned in the trailer fic for this story that this fan-fiction and the sequels that follow it (that's right, I said sequels) might take place in a divergent universe from the cannon MCU. However, I will try to keep it as accurate as I possibly can. So we'll see how that goes.**

 **Ok, if any of you can guess the** _ **Zootopia**_ **reference, you are amazing. Next chapter will hopefully be up early to mid-June. We'll see how that goes.**

 **Reviews are like ice cream on a hot, muggy day!**


	18. 17: It's all your fault

**I am so sorry for the delay! Summer and all that… Ok, so to recap; I saw** _ **Captain America: Civil War**_ **(The Scarlet Vision teasing just about killed me, and I loved it) and recently saw** _ **Suicide Squad**_ **(Harley Quinn is awesome and I highly recommend the movie). Not to mention I've been binge watching** _ **Steven Universe**_ **and** _ **Star vs. the Forces of Evil**_ **and honestly I've been designing characters for a new fanfiction idea I may or may not go through with. Anyway, I had a Guest Reviewer, and to that Guest I say:**

' _ **I would kinda like to see that situation as well. But there are probably rules and regulations MCU executives have to follow. It would be funny though…'**_

 **Ok, this chapter kinda slows down after last chapter's pace. Mainly character explorations here. It's sort of my way to add drama.**

 **Disclaimer:** _ **Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You**_ **still belongs to Meredith Wilson. I own nothing.**

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

' _Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, to get the sun back in the sky…'_

 _Darcy squinted her eyes at the ceiling, decorated with glow in the dark stars. She heard the song, heard her father's voice singing, but it was as if her head was submerged underwater. Raising herself into a sitting position, Darcy blinked. She was in her childhood room. She remembered everything crystal clearly, but looking at it now, it seemed as though she was viewing it through distorted glass._

' _Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, about a thousand kisses shy. Ding dong ding, I can hear the chapel bell chime…'_

 _Looking down, Darcy smiled softly. Jean shorts with grass stains on the pockets, a faded_ SpongeBob Squarepants _tank top, gypsy sandals, and her hair was in pigtails. Looking around her room, Darcy giggled and looked out the window. It was a beautiful summer's day outside, and she intended to enjoy it._

' _Ding dong ding, at the least suggestion… I'll pop the question.'_

 _She bounced off the bed and practically skipped to her bedroom door, which was covered in_ All Time Low _and_ Paramore _posters. Opening it she stepped outside and…_

… _ended up in her backyard._

 _On any normal day, this would've made Darcy do a double take, but it was such a beautiful, sun-shiny day that the brunette didn't even think twice about it._

' _Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, without a sweetheart to my name. Lida Rose, now everyone knows that I am hoping you're the same…'_

 _The lake was just beautiful. Blue and glimmering in the summer sun. On the dock, her grandparents were sitting out by their pontoon, her grandpa petting her cat, Cookie, and her grandma smoking a cigarette. Her brother, Devin, his wife, Mackenzie, and their little daughter and Darcy's beloved niece, Christy were all playing by the swing-set. Devin pushing Christy as high as she wanted and Mackenzie laughing along with her child._

 _And over by the barbecue grill, her mom and dad were holding each other and keeping an eye on the chicken._

' _So here is my love song, not fancy or fine…'_

 _Darcy smiled. It had been so long since she had seen her parents so happy. Her dad was telling her mom a joke. Her mom simply rolled her eyes and playfully smacked her father's chest. The man's booming laughter rang across the backyard and the husband and wife shared a kiss and stared at each other lovingly._

' _Lida Rose, oh won't you be mine—Lida Rose, oh Lida Rose oh Lida Rose…'_

 _With a little bounce in her step, Darcy made her way to the center of the backyard. In front of her, the lake and her grandparents, to her right, her brother, sister-in-law, and niece, and to her left, her mom and dad. It was a beautiful day outside, not too hot, not too cold, her entire family was here._

 _Darcy sighed happily, finally, everything in her life was just…_

" _Perfect…"_

' _Dream of now, dream of then, dream of a love song… That might have been.'_

" _Aunty Darcy!" Christy shouted happily and barreled towards her beloved Aunt. Darcy knelt down and stretched out her arms. Christy tackled her with a hug so strong, Darcy was almost knocked over. "I missed you so much!"_

 _Hugging her niece tightly to her, Darcy's smile widened. "I missed you too, Lil' Miss."_

' _Do I love you? Oh yes, I love you, and I'll bravely tell you, but only when we dream again.'_

 _As her brother and sister-in-law came to her with their greetings, Darcy felt a part of her lighten just a bit (read: a lot). Words couldn't describe how much she missed this. Missed being surrounded by her family, missed hugging them, missed laughing with them._

 _Darcy missed her family and now she was back here with them. She couldn't be happier._

' _Sweet and low… Sweet and low…'_

 _If she was going to be completely honest with herself, Darcy never thought she would be able to have this kind of life again. Not after she tased Thor, not after giant metal robots of doom, not after S.H.I.E.L.D., not after the Avengers—_

 _Darcy blinked and everything seemed to slow down a bit. "Wait…"_

' _How sweet that mem'ry, how long ago.'_

" _This isn't right…" Darcy said slowly, as if her mouth wasn't used to the words._

" _What'd ya mean, Aunt Darcy?" Christy asked. Blinking again, Darcy set her down and slowly stood up and glanced around her backyard again. Her vision suddenly cleared and she remembered it all._

' _Forever… Oh yes, forever.'_

" _That swing set," Darcy began, pointing at it, "it was destroyed years ago." She glanced at her niece, who was looking at her strangely. "I remember, because you were so upset Christy. You were crying because that was your favorite swing-set in the world and the only thing that would cheer you up is if I watched the_ Care-Bears Movie _with you."_

 _Darcy glanced at the dock, the pontoon, and her grandparents. "We sold the pontoon years ago and got a better one. And Aaron, you had to put in a new dock after our old one got smashed in that really bad storm when I was in high school. Grandma, you died two years ago because of lung cancer, and Grandpa you died a month before Christy was born! You shouldn't even be here!"_

' _Will I ever tell you?'_

 _Darcy glanced down at her shirt and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I haven't even seen one episode of_ SpongeBob _since that Atlantis episode with_ David Bowie _in it and I haven't worn my hair in pigtails since middle school. Pigtails! Seriously, what am I? Twelve?" Darcy glanced around frantically, suddenly everything became clear. "Mom, you had the house resided years ago, Mackenzie you haven't worn your hair like that since you met my brother, Cookie you silly cat you got ran over after I went to college, and that tree there is what crushed the swing set and I shouldn't have been able to walk straight out of my old room—and I'm not even going to discuss what was wrong in_ that _place—into the backyard but I did and… and…" Darcy glanced up at her father._

' _Oh no…'_

" _Dad… you died. You've been dead for twenty years. I remember because I came home from school and you were… you were…" A lump was suddenly caught in Darcy's throat and she couldn't form the words._

 _Running her fingers through her hair and screwing her eyes shut, Darcy growled a bit. "I can't do this, Dad, not again. I love you but all the grief you put us through… I just can't deal with it again. I can't deal with any of this grief that keeps coming back and coming back. It's like you guys are building me up just to see me fall and I can't do it anymore… Why are you guys doing this, do you want to see me explode?!"_

 _Darcy opened her eyes and she wasn't in her backyard. Instead, she was in Sokovia._

' _Lida Rose, oh Lida Rose oh Lida Rose. (Dream of now,)'_

 _Falcon, War Machine, and Iron Man were flying above her, chasing after Ultron's drones. Up ahead she could see Thor, Captain America, and Hawkeye escorting the final stragglers onto the evacuation boats. Behind her, she could hear the Hulk roar._

" _It's your fault."_

 _Turning around, Darcy was greeted with Pietro Maximoff's tired face._

" _Pietro…?"_

" _It's your fault, you know."_

' _Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, (Dream of then,)'_

 _Darcy's face fell and the lump from her throat became heavy and dropped straight to her stomach. Clutching it tightly, Darcy eyes looked everywhere but Pietro's eyes. "Wh-what'd you mean…?"_

 _He approached her slowly, a contradiction to all of Darcy's memories of him. "You just had to save the boy, didn't you?"_

" _I… I…"_

" _I would have saved him, or Clint would have." Pietro stopped a foot in front of her. His eyes cold and mocking. "But no, you just had to be the hero…"_

' _To get the sun back in the sky… (Dream of a love song…)'_

 _Darcy's stomach started to do flip flops and she suddenly felt sick. "I-I didn't know that Ultron would… I didn't think that he—" Darcy placed a hand to her mouth, the words coming out as a garbled squeak._

" _And now, because of you, I'm dead."_

 _Darcy blinked and suddenly Pietro was riddled with bullet holes. He was bleeding and he looked horribly pale, but still he stood. She gasped, tears starting to stream down her cheeks. "I'm sorry… I didn't know…"_

 _Pietro scoffs. "Tears and apologies won't bring me back. Face it," he bends down and Darcy's gazes into his eyes while her own blur with tears, "you weren't quick enough, you aren't a hero, and it's all your fault."_

' _Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, (That might have been) about a thousand kisses shy.'_

 _Darcy backed up as a sob wracked her body. Shaking her head, she was able to choke out "I didn't know, I'm sorry!"_

 _Pietro glared at her. "It's all your fault."_

" _Don't…"_

" _It's all your fault."_

" _Please,"_

" _It's all your fault."_

" _Stop!"_

" _Why should I? You know it's true…" He took a step toward her and Darcy turned around. Tears streaming down her face quicker than she could wipe them away._

" _I don't know what else to say… 'I'm sorry' is all I have!"_

" _Do you think that will help me or him now?"_

' _(Do I love you?) Ding dong ding, (Oh yes, I love you) I can hear the chapel bell chime…'_

 _Darcy futilely wiped the tears away from her eyes. "Him?" Pietro came to stand beside he and he pointed down._

 _She's not sure how she missed it earlier, but suddenly Darcy is staring down at Erik Selvig's limp, bloody body lying before her. Startled, Darcy backed up and rammed straight into Pietro, who grabbed her shoulders and all but forced her to look at her friend's limp form._

" _It's your fault I'm dead, and now it's your fault he's like this."_

 _Darcy sobbed and shook her head, all the while trying to keep the contents of her stomach down._

" _I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"_

' _(And I'll bravely tell you) Ding dong ding, (But only when we dream again) at the least suggestion… I'll pop the question.'_

 _That's all Darcy could offer. Shaking her head, tears streaming down her cheeks, and the horrible urge to throw up were driving her body to its limits, but she couldn't think of any other way to handle the stress she was presented with now. "I'm sorry" was all she was mentally, emotionally, and physically able to offer at that point._

 _But it wasn't good enough, and Pietro just kept throwing it in her face._

" _I'm sorry, ok! If I had been faster, if I had been smarter, if I had just done something else you would still be…_ alive _…"_

' _(Sweet and Low) Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, (Sweet and low…)'_

 _Darcy forced herself to turn away from Erik's body and come face to face with Pietro. She gave him a once over, sized him up in a way._

 _His body had more wholes than Swiss cheese, his hair was matted to his head with sweat, blood stained his once blue and silver outfit, and his skin was pale as death. Swallowing, tears still running down her cheeks, Darcy reached out to touch him._

 _Her hand passed straight through his chest._

 _Pulling back quickly, Darcy noticed that his body began to dissipate, like dust in the wind. She glanced up to Pietro's eyes and found them cold, accusing, unforgiving, and most of all, lifeless._

 _Turning to avoid his gaze, Darcy found Erik's body had vanished. Around her things slowed to a stop and began to dissipate as well. Everywhere she looked, things were disappearing._

' _Without a sweetheart to my name. (How sweet that mem'ry,)'_

 _Looking up into the young Sokovians eyes, Darcy was saddened to find he was already gone._

" _c…" His voice echoed._

' _Lida Rose, now everyone knows (How long ago) that I am hoping you're the same…'_

 _Guilt, anger, confusion, and sadness wracked through her body. Feeling tired and weak, she dropped to her knees. One hand clutching her stomach, the other covering her mouth as Darcy sobbed and gagged. Around her, the world started to glow a white color. It hurt Darcy to look at it, but she accepted the pain until suddenly,_

' _(Forever…) So here is my love song, (Oh yes, forever)'_

… _She couldn't…_

' _Not fancy or fine… (Will I ever tell you?)'_

… _Feel anything…_

' _Lida Rose, oh won't you be (Oh no…) mine—_

… _. At all…_

 _Lida Rose, oh Lida Rose oh Lida Rose…'_

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

The air smelled clean and fresh.

Darcy blinked her eyes open, trying to adjust to the bright light. Forcing her eyes to remain open, she glanced around at the green walls.

Looking down, Darcy saw (one of) her _Steven Universe_ shirts covered in dried blood and soot. Her leggings were in no better shape. Slowly reaching up, her arm felt tired just from this one simple action, Darcy felt the line of her head and the scratchy lump underneath her hair.

 _Where's my hat?_ Was, ironically, the first question to pop into Darcy's mind. _Christy gave me that hat; I can't lose it…_

As Darcy tried to put her hand down, it came in contact with something smooth and round. Pulling it into her line of sight, Darcy found a plastic, green-blue tube running from a small machine by her bed into her nose. _Ok… That's why it smells fresh._

" _I missed you so much!" "Perfect…" "It's all your fault…"_

The remnants of her dream slowly came back to her. Guilt and sadness settled into her stomach. As her body began to feel numb, Darcy slowly laid down. Wanting nothing more than to sink into the hospital bed and disappear, if not for a little while.

" _Mr. Stark, please! I don't even know if the patient is awake yet!"_

" _You're a nurse, aren't you supposed to keep an eye on her?"_

" _Tony, please, she's just an intern!"_

" _So was Darcy, and look what happened!"_

" _Miss Lewis is no longer an intern, Mr. Stark. You and Captain Rogers saw to that…"_

" _Yeah, add that to my list of things I regret."_ The door handle started to turn but was suddenly stopped.

" _Mr. Stark, I cannot let you in here under good conscious! Who knows what kind of condition she is in—"_

" _Excuse me, I'm paying for her bill. So, frankly, I should be able to see this girl whenever I damn well please!"_ The door was thrown open and Tony Stark marched in, followed by Pepper Potts and Agent Coulson and a young, dark-haired girl in a nurse's outfit. The four stopped suddenly when they saw the girl awake, even if she was curled up on her side.

"Darcy, honey, how are you feeling?" Pepper said, approaching the bed with a motherly air about her.

The brunette glanced over at the blonde and gave a noncommittal hum.

Tony and Coulson frowned, and once he spotted the oxygen tube, Tony's eyes immediately narrowed. "Why does she have an oxygen tube? She is not a seventy-nine-year-old woman suffering from lung cancer, dammit. She's a twenty-five-year-old girl!"

"Mr. Stark, please, there's no need to get angry." Coulson tried to placate him.

"No, Agent, there is every reason to be angry. Why does she have a God damn oxygen tube?!" Tony gestured angrily towards Darcy while glaring at the intern, who swallowed nervously.

"W-well, when we took her in we had to put her on the oxygen because of the blood loss and surgery. A common pro-procedure I assure you, but when we tried to take her off, her breathing began to f-fail her…" The nursing intern explained nervously.

"What do you mean?" Pepper asked

"Um, well, you see, there was another girl the Red Cross picked up. One who was closer to the final explosion site and was in a certain place for a longer period of time than Miss Lewis was."

"Ah, yes, Rosie Hernandez." Coulson nodded. "How is she?"

The nurse glanced down at her clipboard, nervous. "I… I'm not sure if I can disclose such information. I was only assigned to—"

Tony cleared his throat and glanced at the intern's name tag. "Excuse me Miss… Navami? What is that, Asian?"

"Polynesian, actually…"

"Well, considering that the head of one of the most powerful government agencies in America, along with one of the founding members of the Avengers and current CEO of Stark Industries are in this room asking the question, I believe your supervisor will be ok with you answering said question."

Navami nodded and glanced at the clipboard she had brought in with her. "Rosie Hernandez is in stable condition, however the hospital decided to place her in a medically induced coma for her own safety and is monitoring her oxygen intake and pulse."

"Why so much concern?" Coulson asked.

"It's justifiable, Mr. Coulson. Due to the high level of toxins we found in her body…"

"Toxins?" Pepper questioned, glancing at Darcy, who was uncharacteristically quiet throughout the whole exchange.

"The same we found in Miss Lewis's body and Mr. Hix's." Nalami explained, looking equally nervous and mystified. "It's unlike anything we've ever seen. It penetrates the body in any way it can. The pores of your skin, mouth, nose, anywhere it can get in. From what we could tell, it was designed to do one thing; _kill_."

"How do you know all this?" Coulson questioned.

"The other two men we picked up, uh," Nalami glanced down at her clipboard and turned over a couple pages, "Jason Longley and Don Bellweather. They died within an hour of us finding them, but it wasn't the injuries due to the explosion that killed them. Granted, it was a factor, but not the final one."

"Are you saying a toxin, one released through an air vent, did all of this?"

"The autopsy showed that their lungs were coated in a slimy material, along with most of their pores." Nalami shook her head.

"It can't possibly be that lethal," Pepper said

"Have you ever seen the pictures of a smoker's lung compared to that of a healthy lung?" All who were paying attention nodded. "And do you know how the lungs of a smoker look all black and crippled and covered in gunk?" Again, those who could nodded yes. "Well, imagine those type of lungs covered in tar and slime and that's what Longley and Bellwether's lungs looked like."

Tony and Pepper's eyes widened in shock as Coulson glanced at Darcy. "What about her?"

"We were able to clean out most of it in her and Mr. Hix's lungs. The oxygen and the tube is just to help get toxin out of her system."

Tony glanced over at the bed, his frowned deepened when he saw Darcy lying curled on her side, looking tired and… depressed. He went over and sat on the edge of her bed, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "How ya doing, Boop?"

Darcy glanced over her shoulder, "I'm alive" she looked as though she tried to smile, but just didn't have the energy to do so.

Coulson pointed at Darcy. "Is she ok to be moved?"

"As in; Moved back to New York, where I will then install a security system even she can't breach so something like this can't happen again."

Pepper smacked Tony on the back of the head. "We are not keeping her prisoner." She turned to Nalami. "But can she go back to New York?"

"Well… she seems to have woke up just fine. I'd have to have my boss give you the final call but she seems just fine to me… All things considered." Nalami awkwardly glanced down. "Um, let me go do that right now…"

"I'm going to go check on Hix and Hernandez," Coulson stated, "You two ok with getting her back to the base?"

"I think we'll manage," Pepper assured the man as he followed Nalami out.

Tony checked his watch before pulling out his phone. "I'll shoot F.R.I.D.A.Y. a text and tell her we'll need a plane ride back to HQ."

"I might as well go see if they need any of your payment information." Pepper gave Darcy a chaste kiss to the forehead. "I'll be right back, ok?" When Darcy nodded, the woman smiled and began to make her exit.

"Could I get one of those, too?" Tony asked

"Tony, you are a forty-five-year-old man, not a seventy-nine-year-old woman suffering from lung cancer. You don't need an oxygen tube." Pepper chuckled as she exited the room. Tony smirked, shaking his head fondly.

"Yeah, I had that coming…" The billionaire glanced over at Darcy, who was still a bit too quiet for his liking. Sighing, Tony stuffed his phone into the pocket of his suit, walking over to the other side of the bed and crouching down so he and Darcy were eye-to-eye. "Ok, what's wrong?"

"Hmm?"

"I know you, Boop. You're only this quite when something's bugging you... Or a fictional character is having troubles…So, basically what I just said—off topic." Tony shakes his head. "Just tell me what's wrong?"

" _It's all your fault…"_ Darcy glanced down at her fingers and shrugged. "I'm just tired…"

"Ok… Do you mean 'Just-woke-up-after-Almost-Being-Killed-Tired' or 'Life-is-a-pile-of-Turds-Tired'? Because I'm getting some mixed signals here…"

Darcy closed her eyes, wanting desperately to go back to sleep and just skip this whole conversation. "Tired…"

Tony, reluctantly, nodded. He of all people understood how many meanings _'Tired'_ could have.

The two sat in silence for about five minutes before Tony's phone buzzed. Glancing at the screen he saw two new text messages. One from F.R.I.D.A.Y. and one from Rhode.

' _A private plane will be there in fifteen minutes to take you, Miss Potts, and Miss Lewis back to HQ. Please tell Miss Lewis that I hope she recovers.' –F.R.I.D.A.Y._

' _Loki is in his cell, being questioned by Hill. Wanda is in Dr. Cho's lab getting her leg fixed. We're all with her. How's our favorite little nutbag?' –Rhodey_

Tony quickly typed. _'Quiet and bandaged. She's got an oxygen tube.'_

Within the minute Rhodey responded. _'Darcy's quiet? That can't be good. Does she know about Ian yet?'_

' _You want to tell her be my guest.'_

' _Tony…'_

' _What?'_

' _Tell her.'_

' _Why should I?'_

' _You remember how she reacted to the whole "Loki saving her life thing". You need to tell her so she won't kill us for keeping secrets.'_

Tony paused, remembering the whole fiasco. Granted, he hadn't been there for the fallout, but Steve and Rhodey had filled him in on the whole thing. Besides, he was a part of the cover-up (something he didn't like from the start).

' _Tony, you need to at least mention what happened to the guy.'_ The billionaire sighed, knowing his best friend had a point. _'If it comes up it comes up. OK?'_

' _That's all I ask. See you back at base.'_ Deciding to power down his phone, Tony glanced back at Darcy. The brunette was glancing at the hospital bed sheet intently and the tip of her pointer finger was slowly tracing a tiny pattern on the sheet.

Rhodey's words rang through his head and, not for the first time in his life but for the first time he admitted it to himself, Tony Stark wasn't so confident in what he should do next.

For the past two and a half years, Tony (and the other Avengers) had come to see the quirky girl as a close friend. Frankly, the billionaire saw Darcy as the little sister he never had. He knew he speaks for the other Avengers when he says that if something bad happens to Darcy, he'll go _Hiroshima_ on the poor bastard's ass.

So seeing Darcy like this—quiet, tired, and depressed—makes him wary to confess what he knows.

And what he knows is this; Ian and Darcy do love each other. They had been together since the whole _Greenwich_ -mess. That was about as long as Darcy and Jane had been working for him. He had heard from Jane and Rhodey that the relationship was getting a bit rocky (and he'd be lying if he said didn't have a tiny missile launcher with Ian's name written on it back at Stark Tower should he break Darcy's heart). Rumor going around the HQ was that Darcy had kicked Ian out and were about ready to call it quits. The other Avengers, himself included, and Jane all collectively agreed it would be better for Darcy if they did.

Only, so far, the rumors had been that. Rumors.

While it was true Ian was now living with some IT buddies, the relationship was (as far as Tony knew) still going, no matter how fizzled out it had become.

However, what Ian did was horrible, inexcusable, a downright dick move, and just plain illegal.

If Darcy still had feelings for the Tea-Bag, which Tony wasn't entirely clear on, this would break her heart. And in her current state, that was the last thing she needed.

But, Tony did realize how important being open and honest with each other was. Especially in the wake of the Ultron incident and the whole confusion over why Loki was even here. Not to mention, Erik Selvig's condition. While no one (not even Jane or the Avengers) had gotten a clear answer, he was in ICU at this very hospital and still being operated on. Tony didn't even know if he was alive or not. It's not that he didn't care enough to try and find out, it's just no one would tell him!

Glancing at the girl on the bed, Tony internally groaned and cursed the fact he was born with a conscious. Clearing his throat, "So, Boop, uh. We gotta confab, ok?"

Darcy doesn't glance up. Merely nods (almost imperceptibly) and hums in consent.

"Actually, it's about two things… Still cool."

"Mhmm,"

"I mean that was some traumatic shit you just went through so—"

" _Tony_."

"Good to know you're starting to feel better. So, um," Tony cleared his throat again, "Dr. Selvig, not sure if you remember but, he was there when the explosion went off. Like, _right there._ He's in intensive care. ICU and all that b-s. Not entirely sure if he'll be ok or…"

The sound that came out of Darcy wasn't so much human as it was restrained squeak of pain and guilt. It hit Tony like Mjölnir to the stomach. If this was how she reacted to Selvig, then Tony wasn't ready to deliver the news about Ian just yet.

He reached out and grabbed one of Darcy's hand and squeezed gently. "Doctors are working as hard as they can, Boop. I promise you they are. He'll pull through. He survived Death robots, Loki, Santa's Rejected Helpers and you and Thor. He'll pull through…"

Darcy closed her eyes and squeezed Tony's hand back. The man decided to give her time to process the information before continuing. "You good for me to go on or…?"

"Uh-huh,"

"Ok… so, S.H.I.E.L.D. found someone tied up with wire. An accomplice of Rosie's actually…"

Tony sees Darcy burrow her head into the pillow, a frown on her face. "It was Ian… Wasn't it?"

The Iron Man almost fell out of his chair. He sat up and gaped at Darcy. Tony was proud of himself though, when he asked "How did you know that?" he didn't shout, which he knew wouldn't have ended well.

Darcy shifts her head and gives him the look that Pepper, Steve, Bruce, or just about anyone gives him when he's says something stupid. "Wanna think real hard and try asking that again?"

Cheeks warm, he shakes his head. "You ok?"

Darcy sighs, "Where is he?"

"His injuries weren't horrible. So, HQ Prison."

Darcy rolls over and glances at him. "And Selvig?"

Tony blinks. "Um… Like I said, he's in the ICU here. We're not entirely sure. But, Darcy… Ian is more than likely going to be convicted of terrorism or some bullshit like that. I mean, I know you two were involved and all—"

" _Were_ involved." Darcy echoes back, sounding tired once again.

Tony clamps his mouth shuts.

 _Well there it is,_ he thinks. _They're done._ Tony feels like he should be happier about this. Darcy finally cut something out of her life she didn't need, something that was making her miserable. This would be better for her in the long run and Tony thought that he would be happy for her (and himself) when it finally happened.

Now? Only one word could describe it.

 _Huh…_

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Wanda glanced at the cradle for the thirteenth time that hour. It kept passing over her injured leg, repairing the damaged tissue. Whatever Loki did, it amazingly prevented Wanda from passing out due to blood loss at Hix Industries. However, it still needed medical attention. Seeing as how she was an Avenger, this meant immediate access to Dr. Helen Cho's Cradle. At first, Wanda had been wary. The last time the women met face-to-face was when Ultron had… um, _"Employed"_ them both.

The woman had merely smiled at her and told her that the machine would take care of everything. "You'll be up and walking in a couple of hours…"

Once iron pills had been distributed, Vision had gone to the Cafeteria, returning within minutes with a tray full of chicken nuggets, a bowl of strawberries and bananas, a package of peanuts, and a tall bottle of water. "They are full of the necessary nutrients and vitamins you might need in in your current condition." While explaining why he brought her these foods, he looked bashful and couldn't quite look her in the eye.

Wanda thought it was adorable and squeezed his hand with a thank you.

They spent the first half-hour quietly conversing between themselves, with Vision handing Wanda a certain food item or sometimes popping it in her mouth when she couldn't be bothered to reach it herself.

Slowly, the other Avengers trickled in. Steve came in first to check up on her, Sam came in and showed her a funny video to make her laugh, and Rhodey came in with an update on Darcy, Selvig, and Ian.

When told that Tony, Pepper, and Agent Coulson were picking up Darcy personally, Wanda breathed a sigh of relief; her friend was in good hands. When told that Selvig was in the ICU and might not recover and that Jane had flown out to Chicago to be there with him, a little ball of fear settled in her stomach and she (unconsciously) reached for something to hold onto, which just so happened to be Vision's hand. When told that Ian was imprisoned and soon to be interrogated for what he knew, Wanda asked if/when they did a good-cop, bad-cop routine if she could be bad-cop.

Steve and Rhodey were unimpressed, but Sam got a kick out of the whole idea.

Eventually, Natasha joined them to get Wanda's statement of what happened—which, now that Wanda looked back, was nothing more than her and Loki chasing after Darcy and Trisha and hoping they weren't killed in the process.

"What happened to Loki, anyway?" The two had ridden back with Natasha, but Wanda was whisked away the moment the helicopter landed.

"Given proper medical treatment and then placed back in his cell." Natasha explained, sounding bored. "Hill's questioning him about what happened…"

Wanda shrugged and glanced at the ceiling. "Not much happened honestly…"

"You sure? People tend to remember things differently once out of a warzone." Natasha said, reaching over and stealing one of her chicken nuggets.

Wanda glared mockingly at the redhead before shaking her head. "Like I said, Trisha and Darcy were heading downstairs, Loki and I followed. Stuff kept blowing up, I got hit, Trisha grabbed us we went to the bottom of Hix Industries and then we went into a room full of poison and pulled out Darcy and Hix. Now we're here. Vizh, could you hand me a strawberry please?" The android complied and Wanda smiled happily.

"Ok, but what happened in between all of that?" Natasha prodded.

"Could you be more specific?"

"What happened between you getting hit and you and Loki pulling Queen Quirks and Hix out of a poison filled room?" Rhodey asked, genuinely curious.

Wanda closed her eyes and sighed. "Ian…"

The Avengers froze for a second. Steve and Natasha winced while Rhodey and Sam glanced to the side, seemingly ashamed. Vision and Wanda shared a look. "He was a part of the attack?" Vision asked.

Wanda nodded. "He shot at me and Loki."

"With a gun?" Sam asked. Wanda sent him a look and he mumbled an apology before nodding for Wanda to continue.

"When I found out it was him… I just got so angry I—" Wanda felt the magic thrumming at her fingertips and paused to take a deep breath or two… She took four. "What he was doing was wrong, but what got me was the fact he went behind Darcy's—his girlfriend of nearly three years—back to work with this girl he's known for what I'm assuming is two and a half weeks."

"Not even that," Steve added.

"That makes it worse!" Wanda exclaimed, burying her face in her hands. "Why would he even do that?"

"'Cause Rosie's hot." Sam and Rhodey answered in unison. In response, Steve punched Rhodey in the arm and Natasha walked over and slapped Sam upside the head. "Hey, I'm just saying, some men don't exactly think with their brains!" Sam said defensively

"You don't say?" Vision replied.

"Makes sense though." Wanda sighed. "I mean, with Jessica and all—"

"Who's Jessica?" Steve asked innocently.

Wanda paused, ran the sentence through her head, bringing her hand to her mouth once she realized what she said.

Steve, who was still confused, raised a brow at the Witch. But after a few moments, realization hit him. "Oh…"

"That poor bastard… Sorry, Steve—" Rhodey said quietly

"Shut it,"

Sam exhaled and stood up, smiling cheerfully. "Well, if you all need me I'll be in the gym."

"Why?"

"I figure it'd be healthier and a lot more legal to just punch a few hundred punching bags instead of committing murder." Sam explained as he started to leave. Steve pondered his words before rising from his seat. "Yeah, that's a lot better."

Rhodey, to his credit, stayed in his seat for two and a half minutes before hopping up. "Hey guys, wait up!"

Once he left, Vision laid a hand on Wanda's arm, "Does Darcy know?"

Wanda glanced at Vision and then to Natasha. Finally, her gaze landed on the cradle. "Um…"

Vision looked both surprised and disappointed in Wanda's answer. Natasha just leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Seems like Ian wasn't the only one keeping secrets from Darcy, was he?"

Guilt settling in her stomach, Wanda groaned and slung an arm over her eyes.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Loki laid on his back, eyes closed, on his cot in his cell. Chasing sleep, yet it always seemed out of reach. He needed to sleep, he wanted to sleep. After the incident at Hix Industries, the subsequent disappearance of Darcy Lewis, and the interrogation by Maria Hill; the God was exhausted.

Yet, it seemed he was too tired to even sleep.

Sighing, Loki sat up and reached for _Frankenstein_ , he had already finished a majority of the books Darcy Lewis had brought him. He had saved this one for last, though.

As he reached for the book, however, he felt something soft rub against his chest. Confused, he felt his shirt and was surprised to find something bulging underneath it. Reaching into the pocket, he pulled out an orange hat that seemed to be shaped like some odd creature.

Studying it, he saw the top of what were supposed to be the creature's ears were singed black. Staring at the blue-green eyes of the hat, Loki shrugged. Flipping it this way and that, he was just about to set it aside when his thumb brushed something smooth and soft on the inside of the hat. Turning it inside out, he saw his thumb was brushing some sort of tag, and a sloppy inscription was written on the inside liner of the hat.

' _To Aunt Darcy, the bestest Aunt ever! Luv Christy'_ The handwriting was faded and sloppy. As if written by a child long ago. Then it hit him.

 _Aunt Darcy_ , Loki remembered now. This hat was blown from Darcy Lewis's head after the first explosion and he had found it. He had stuffed the hat into his pocket before following after her. In the confusion and chaos, he had forgotten all about it.

"Aunt Darcy…" That meant Darcy Lewis had a family somewhere.

Did they know where she was, who she associated herself with? Did they know that she had thrown herself headfirst into a deadly situation and—he guessed—came out alive?

Did they know anything about her current life?

Glancing at the handwriting again, Loki couldn't help but smile slightly. Whomever this Christy child was, she must adore Darcy Lewis. And judging by how faded and old the hat itself was, meaning she's had this hat (a gift, no doubt, from Christy) for quite some time, Darcy Lewis must adore this Christy as well.

The God smiled wistfully. To have someone love you unconditionally, a familial love… Loki frowned and glanced at the pile of books once again.

" _And am I not your mother? Frigga asked._

Frowning, Loki gently placed the hat under his pillow and then set _Frankenstein_ on the floor. Lying back on his cot, he stared at the ceiling.

Reaching under his pillow, his fingers lightly grazed the hat. "You lucky girl…"

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Darcy arrived back home to an empty apartment. She knew Jane was still in Chicago with Selvig, she didn't know where Wanda was, and Ian… she didn't really want to think about him at the moment.

She contemplated turning on the TV, but decided against it. She thought of finding her iPhone and listening to music or maybe going onto YouTube, but decided against that as well. Eventually, Darcy merely sat on the couch Indian style, staring at her reflection in the TV screen. Thoughts of maybe taking a shower or at least changing out of her messed up clothes floated in Darcy's head, but immediately floated back out again. So, on the couch she sat for what felt like an eternity but was more like an hour and a half.

After sitting in the silence for so long, Darcy jumped slightly when she heard the door open. Glancing up, her gaze met Wanda's and for a moment, the two friends froze. Darcy taking in Wanda's ragged and tired appearance and Wanda taking in Darcy's blood and soot covered clothing and oxygen tube.

" _Oh, șlávă Domnului că ești v pořádku!_ " Wanda shouted joyfully, running to give Darcy a hug, while still being mindful of her friend's injuries. Pulling back, Wanda eyed the oxygen tube.

"It's ok! I just have to wear this for the rest of the week to make sure I get all the gunk out of my system." Darcy explained quickly, noting her friend's nervous expression.

Wanda sighed in relief. "I'm just glad you're ok!" The two friends hugged each other again, just happy to know they both made it out ok.

Darcy pulled back first. "Have you heard anything about Loki?"

"I heard he got medical attention but I haven't seen him since I got back."

"Natasha?"

"A few stitches in her forehead but that's it."

"Rosie?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s got her in the prison's medical block. But that's about the extent of my knowledge on her. Have you heard about Hix?"

"Kind of, what happened?"

"He's in a medically induced coma back in Chicago. Trisha texted me and told me that a couple of bones in his legs were just about shattered. He won't be walking for a while…"

"How's Trisha?"

Wanda shook her head and shrugged. "I guess she's ok? I texted her and asked how she was but she never responded."

The two friends leaned back on the couch. They were both exhausted and knew sleep—or at the very least a shower—was in order. But, they wanted to make sure their friend was ok. And for Wanda, that meant asking the tough question.

"And Ian?"

Wanda didn't miss the way Darcy tensed or how she scowled slightly. "What about him?"

"Do you know what happened? What he did?"

"Yeah… Tony told me."

"And…?"

"And _what_ , Wans?"

"I mean… Y'know… You and him—"

"There is no 'Me and him'. Not anymore, at least." Darcy crossed her arms over her chest and glanced away, albeit sadly.

Wanda was speechless. _They're done,_ she thought, _they're no longer together._ The witch fought back a smile. She may be extremely happy for Darcy and her recent choice in life, but that doesn't mean she couldn't be a supportive friend.

Wanda reached out and placed a supportive hand on Darcy's shoulder. "It's for the best, he was a dick. What with the whole embarrassing you and arguing with you and lying to you about Rosie and Jessica—"

Darcy whipped her head around, "Who's Jessica?" Wanda's eyes widened and she glanced at the floor nervously. "Who's Jessica?"

"I… um…"

"Wanda, _who is Jessica_?" Darcy narrowed her eyes at her friend.

Wanda swallowed. "Jane and I wanted to tell you, we really did—"

"Who is Jessica?"

"—But we didn't want to hurt you—"

"Who is Jessica?"

"—I swear we found out by accident!"

"Dammit Wanda, who's—" Something clicked in Darcy's head. "He's been cheating on me…"

"I'm sorry… We wanted to tell you but…"

Darcy shifted away from Wanda and frowned. "How long have you known?"

"A few weeks? Maybe a month?"

"It's been going on longer than that, hasn't it?"

"I'm assuming." Suddenly it all made sense to Darcy. Ian staying later than Jane in London after the whole 'Ultron' mess, his checking his phone constantly, it all made sense. He had been cheating on her!

"I swear Darcy, Jane and I wanted to tell you—"

"You and Jane knew for a _month_ and didn't tell me?!" Darcy shouted and Wanda flinched back.

Darcy shook her head and yanked up her tiny oxygen tank. She started to head for the door when Wanda stepped in front of her. "What're you doing?"

"I need to talk to someone."

"Wait, Darce, just stop for a second and—"

Darcy shoved Wanda out of the way and stomped over to the door and yanked it open. Halfway over the threshold, the brunette sighed heavily. "You should've told me."

"We didn't want to hurt you." Wanda said, frowning uncertainly.

"Yeah, well," Darcy glared at her shoes, "good job." She slammed the door shut.

Tears welling in her eyes, Wanda slumped back onto the couch. Regret, anger, guilt, shame, and sadness overwhelming her. "God, I suck at this friendship thing…"

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Bucky had guessed that for a majority of his life since the end of World War II and his subsequent _"employment"_ by HYDRA, he had been locked away in a cell of some sort. However, since he was never conscious or even alert for about 99.2% of that time, the former assassin had never really gotten used to the lull of boredom between visitors, guard rotations, and meals.

So, to pass time, Bucky counted the number of tiles on the floor (forty-six and three-fourths) and the number of ceiling tiles (fifteen and a half) for two hours. That got boring after a while, he learned, so he resorted to another method of time killing.

 _Huh, I have thirty-two teeth in my mouth._ Bucky thought, unusually surprised until he realized, _wait did I count that right? Hmm… One, two, three, four, five—_

The sound of the prison entrance being opened startled Bucky out of his thoughts. The man wondered for a moment if it was dinner time, but remembered dinner wasn't due for—he assumed—another hour.

He was expecting a guard or something of the like to come walking down or perhaps that Agent Coulson to come in and interrogate either him or the young British man he saw escorted down here a few hours back. He wasn't expecting Darcy Lewis, now sporting an oxygen tube and tank, to come storming in with Steve Rogers on her tail. It caught him off-guard to say the least.

"Where is he?" Darcy asked Steve.

"Two down on the right."

Bucky stepped forward in time to watch Darcy approach the cell the young British man was placed in. Bucky heard the young man exclaim, "Darcy, you came—"

"You cheated on me." Darcy cut him off. And Bucky's eyes widened. That young twat _cheated_ on Darcy Lewis? _Who would do something like that?!_

"Love…"

"Don't call me that! You cheated on me, you went behind my back and committed an act of Terrorism with a girl you barely know, you made me feel pathetic and horrible ever since you came back and you better have a damn good reason behind all this!" Darcy screamed at the man. Bucky watched as Steve clenched his fists, an obvious sign of restraint. Unconsciously, Bucky did the same thing.

"Darcy, love, believe me… There's a logical explanation to everything!"

"Yeah, which is…?"

"I…" The young man trailed off, either unable to explain himself or unwilling to.

"Right, that's what I thought." Darcy turned away from the prison and started to walk away.

"Darcy, wait, what about us?"

"There is no _'us'_ anymore, Ian. Go fuck yourself." Darcy scowled and stormed passed Steve, ignoring the young man's—Ian, apparently—pleas to just "Stop and wait for a second, please!"

Steve shook his head in Ian's direction and then glanced at Bucky and frowned. Bucky raised a brow and gestured between Ian's general direction and the direction Darcy stormed off to. Steve just winced and shook his head as if to say _'You don't want to know.'_

Nodding and holding a hand up in surrender, Bucky retreated back to his cot. As he lied back down, his eyes narrowed. If he ever got out of this cell, one of the first things Bucky would do was punch this Ian fellow in the nose.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 **And there it is! Again, so sorry for the delay and I hope this makes up for it! So, if anyone wants to talk about** _ **Civil War, Suicide Squad, Steven Universe, Star vs the Forces of Evil,**_ **or even that fanfiction idea that I'm on the fence about, just PM me or even drop a review.**

 **And first thing tomorrow I'll start on chapter 18 so pray to God there won't be such a delay this time around. See you guys next time!**


	19. 18: I can't compete

**And we're back! I'll just skip the formalities and head straight to the good stuff.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.** _ **Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat**_ **belongs to** _ **Disney**_ **.**

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

The figure glared at Hix, then at their watch.

 _12:25 AM._ They thought _, I shouldn't be waiting for his sorry ass to wake up from a coma at 12:25 AM._

And in all honesty, it was getting harder for the figure to resist grabbing the nearest pillow and shove it in the man's face and wait for the heart-monitor to go flat. But then they remembered they were being recorded. S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't let their latest ally be in a room without some type of supervision after all.

Besides, how would it look if they were the ones to kill Hix and not HYDRA or the Avengers or at the very least that God locked away in the Avenger's basement?

Taking a deep breath to calm the nerves, the figure clenched and unclenched their fists. While they were being recorded, there were no voice monitors. So the figure felt no fear when they growled out "Even without him, I can still do this. It'll just make things easier…"

Of course, fate always seemed to be against them.

Hix groaned and blinked his eyes opened. Scanning the hospital room's ceiling and the heart monitor to his left. "I'm… alive?"

"Thank God," The figure deadpanned. Standing up and cracking their knuckles, "Try not to seem too emotional, we're being watched."

Hix narrowed his eyes hazily at the figure. "They let _you_ in?"

"Of course they let me in. I'm surprised they let you live. But, hey, _'to each his own'_ or so they say."

Glancing back at the ceiling, Hix frowned. "Yes, you've made it quite clear to me before that I matter to you as much as fidelity mattered to Bill Clinton."

The figure knelt down by Hix's bed and put on an air of concern, if for nothing but to make sure nothing looked fishy on camera. "Believe me, you matter far less to me now more than ever."

"How bad is it?"

"Your dumb-ass decisions almost cost us everything. Do you realize how close our cover was to being blown?" While the tone sounded concerned and caring, Hix knew that the words were far from it.

"Excuse me, but I believe I was trying to, you know, _not die_!"

"No emotions, remember? You're on camera… And you also just woke up from a forty-five-hour coma."

"Priorities are in order I see," Hix glanced down at his legs, covered by the thin hospital blanket, "Why do my legs feel heavy?"

"I'm sure about twelve percent has to deal with the coma and impressive drugs they gave you to the numb the pain, but the remaining eighty-eight percent has to deal with the fact that your femur, tibia, and fibula in both legs were broken. But, don't worry, your patella's were only scratched."

" _What_?!"

"Emotions, remember?"

"Will I ever be able to walk again?!"

"I don't know. The doctors are trying to come up with solution and I'm sure S.H.I.E.L.D. will think of something, but for now, you are wheel chair bound."

"This is terrible!"

"I know! Now if I ever decide to stab your legs with a pair of scissors, it'll be like adding a tiny grain of salt to the wound." Hix flinched at the horrible threat spoken in a concerned coo.

"Yes, that's what I meant. Not the horrible inclination that I might never walk again or that I'll barely be able to continue with the plan—"

The figure couldn't help a small smile and giggle escape, "Well of course you'll barely be able to continue with the plan." The concerned façade once again in place. "Which is why I'm here in the first place…"

"What? No concern for an old friend?"

"We're not friends."

"Ally?"

"Nope."

"Acquaintance?"

"Colder."

"What's lower than acquaintance?"

"The point is—!" A breath later and the figure started again. "The point is, in light of your recent failures, I believe this project needs to be placed under new management. _My_ management."

"Ok, first of all, I have not failed this project—"

"Your life is full of failures,"

"—and second, _your_ management?"

"Yes, my management."

Hix scoffed. "Do you even know what you're doing?"

The figure smiled sweetly, as if a mother nurturing her young child back to health, and patted Hix's cheeks, a bit harshly, one might add. "Don't worry, when this is all over, S.H.I.E.L.D. won't know what hit them."

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

It was a rough night for Wanda. Guilt had kept her awake most of the night, and when she was able to sleep, it wasn't a restful one.

Finally, once 7 AM rolled around, Wanda decided she had "rested" long enough and decided to try and give this whole "Life" thing one more go. Not bothering to change out of her tank-top and sweatpants—because really, who would care? —she trudged her way to the kitchen. On her way there, she passed Darcy's room. Frowning, she put a hand to her ear in an attempt to gauge her friend's mood.

" _Everybody wants to be a cat, because a cat's the only cat who knows where it's at. Tell me! Everybody's pickin' up on that feline beat,_ _'cau_ _se everything else is obsolete. A_ _square with a ho_ _rn,_ _can_ _make you wish you weren't born,_ _ever'time he plays;_ _but with a square in the act, you can set music back to the caveman days._

" _I've heard some corny birds who tried to sing, still a cat's the only cat who knows how to swing. Who wants to dig a long-haired gig or stuff like that? When everybody wants to be a cat A square with that horn, makes you wish you weren't born, ever'time he plays; oh a riki-tiki-tinky! With a square in the act, you can set music back to the caveman days- oh a riki-tiki-tinky!_

" _Yes! — Everybody wants to be a cat, because a cat's the only cat who knows where it's at; while playin' jazz you always has a Welcome mat, 'because everybody digs a swingin' cat."_

Wanda blinked uncertainly. On one hand, she wasn't listening to _Nightmare Before Christmas_ anymore. On the other, this new song wasn't exactly the most conventional song. Remembering the slight falling-out, they had yesterday, the Witch decides to give her friend some space.

Making her way to the kitchen, Wanda smelled something cooking and the quiet clatter of plates and silverware. Imagine her surprise when she walked in to see Jane cooking breakfast, and that nothing was seriously destroyed in the process.

"Hey,"

Jane turned around and smiled tiredly. "Hey. Sleep well?"

"About as well as you did, by the looks of it." Wanda said. Jane had dark circles under her eyes, was wearing wrinkled clothing and her hair resembled a bird's nest. "How's Erik?"

"Stable. S.H.I.E.L.D. and Tony are moving him here to be kept under a better surveillance."

"So he's…?" Wanda started hopefully.

"He's in a coma. Alive, but still in a coma." Jane admitted, swallowing.

Wanda joined her friend at the counter and, noticing Jane's tears, gently pushed her aside to take over making breakfast. "Things aren't that much better here…"

"I heard about Ian," Jane shook her head sadly, "He was a great guy, I just don't know what happened."

Wanda shrugged helplessly as she stirred the pancake batter. "I couldn't tell you. Are these blueberry pancakes?"

"Yeah, you're not allergic are you?" Wanda shook her head. "Good. And I take it things are over between him and Darcy?"

"Mm-hmm…" Wanda paused her stirring and frowned. "She uh, she knows about the whole 'Jessica' thing… and that we knew for a while and didn't tell her."

Jane winced. "How is she doing?"

"She's listening to a song about how everyone wants to be cats and not Jack Skellington. So, good right?"

Jane made a so-so motion with her hands. "She only listens to _The Aristocats_ when she wants to cheer herself up."

Wanda nodded and poured the last of the batter onto the hot griddle. Jane cracked a tired smile, "That's one big pancake there, Wans."

"Heh," Wanda smiled back, "we can split if you want?"

Jane shrugged, grabbing a couple plates and some utensils to eat breakfast with. "So, apart from a broken heart and an understandable lack of trust in us, how's Darcy doing?"

"She's supposed to wear an oxygen tube for the rest of the week. Clear some of the gunk out of her system." Wanda said, flipping over the pancake. "I think this one might be a bit burnt."

Jane glanced at the pancake. "No worse than mine." The two friends laughed and set the table. Once the final pancake was finished, the two set into a quiet breakfast. Conversations were a bit slow to start, but the two women chalked it up to just being tired.

"How'd the team take the news about Ian?" Jane finally asked.

"To him being a basic-terrorist or him cheating on Darcy?"

"Uh, both, I guess?"

"They were a bit shocked when they found out Ian was involved in the attack, but when they found out he cheated on Darcy…" Wanda let out a low whistle.

Jane smirked, "What'd they do?"

"To prevent themselves from committing murder; Steve, Sam, and Rhodey went to the gym and _destroyed_ every punching bag we had. Natasha was over earlier and she threw everything he owned into the dumpster."

"What about Vision?"

"Well, after Natasha and I explained the concept of 'cheating' to him and explained why some people are just unfaithful, he came over and gave her the biggest hug and watched _Anastasia_ with Darcy just to make her smile."

"Aw," Jane smiled, "it's good Darcy as a good male-friend like Vision in her life." Jane paused and then sheepishly added "Well, technically male friend."

Wanda smiled in agreement. "Yeah, Vizh is a great guy."

Suddenly Jane scowled and stabbed her fork viscously into her pancake. "Yep, not all men are like him…"

" _Well, you can tell Thor that I told him to take his time. I know his work means a lot to him…"_ Jane's words echoed in her head. Wanda pursed her lips in thought.

"Well, Steve has great qualities. As well as Sam and Rhodey. And Tony… is… um… here?"

Jane nodded half-heartedly. "Yeah, some men are great…"

Wanda frowned and decided to stop beating around the bush. "Jane… is everything ok with you and Thor?"

"That's a stupid question, Wanda. No offense,"

"How so?"

"Because there's nothing going on between Thor and I… at least, not anymore."

Wanda was a bit taken back. When she first met Thor, all he talked about was the wonderful and beautiful Dr. Jane Foster. The God was so enamored the Witch found it very sweet, almost sickeningly so. And Darcy just loved to gush about how great their relationship was and how she wished someone would love her as much as Thor loved Jane, etc.

"You… you're not with him anymore?"

"He's back in Asgard… Long-distance relationships don't usually end well."

"How long have you… well…?"

"Before he left he told me what he was doing. I told him that if he was going to Asgard he might as well stay up there and forget about… _us_." Wanda reached over and squeezed Jane's hand sympathetically. "It's just… It always felt like a competition." Jane elaborated. "Asgard, the Avengers, me… I just, I can't compete and I'm tired of trying. So…"

"Why try?" Wanda finished for her friend, understanding what she meant.

"Yeah,"

After a moment, the Witch asked "Does Thor still love you?"

Jane shrugged. "He might…"

"Do you still love him?"

"With all might heart."

"Do you miss him?"

"Everyday…"

"If he came back right now and wanted to pick up where you guys left off, would you take him back?"

Jane was silent for moment and Wanda noticed a lone tear drop onto Jane's pancake. "No… I wouldn't. I still love and miss him like crazy but… I wouldn't. Is that crazy?"

Wanda smiled and walked over to hug her friend. "No. It is just you need time."

Unbidden, tear rushed to Jane's eyes and before she could stop herself, she pulled Wanda into a hug. The Witch allowed the astrophysicist to cry into her tank top, knowing that she needs this now more than ever.

It took a moment of thought for Wanda to realize that she might be the only one Jane told about her relationship status with Thor and that this was her first real moment of comfort since said relationship ended.

Wanda hugged her tighter.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Jane and Wanda were gone when Darcy finally emerged from her room.

The brunette thought it was for the best, she wasn't exactly ready to talk to either just yet. She knew it would have to happen eventually. But she'll be damned if she didn't at least try to avoid it for a little longer.

Darcy had been given the weekend off (On Natasha and Steve's insistence) and thus, had nothing to really do for the day. Walking into the kitchen to find some comfort food/food in general, she found a plate of big blueberry pancakes with a smiley face made of strawberries and bananas on the counter.

A note on top read: _I know you're mad at us, and you have every right to be. Here's breakfast, don't worry about dishes, Wanda or I will do it later this afternoon. Erik's moving to S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital sometime tomorrow, talk to Hill for more information. Sam might stop by later to cheer you up, but who knows with him. Feel better and I'm sorry. Love, Jane._

Darcy smiled weakly. Even if the two were in a huge argument, Jane was always considerate of her. However, the rightful anger was still present, so she merely took the plate to the living room without much more thought.

As she ate the pancake and fruit pieces, Darcy glanced at some of the pictures on the coffee table. One of her, Jane, and Selvig in New Mexico pre-Thor, one of her and Jane last Halloween (they had gone as Flappers), one of Thor smiling tenderly at Jane while she snuggled into his chest (Darcy had taken that one herself), one of Thor and Darcy last Christmas playing with the toy Lightsabers Jane had bought for them (The astrophysicist had immediately regretted that decision, as it was all the two did for the rest of that week), and one of Jane, Thor, Erik, and herself making faces in a photo booth.

Darcy frowned slightly and leaned over to pick up the latter picture. That was taken a month before she and Thor left for New York and the Avengers. God, she missed Thor.

He was like the brother she never had. Oh sure, her brother Aaron was fantastic! Always there when she needed him, supportive, even when he was training to be in the military and in college, he was always there, everything you could want in a brother… But after her dad had passed away and her mom… well, her mom wasn't exactly fit to take care of little-four-year-old's after her dad died. So Aaron, for a while, had acted more as a pseudo-father figure than a big brother. It wasn't until she was in high school that her mother sort of came back and even then Aaron was still there. When she was seventeen—practically a responsible adult, thank you very much—did he finally step out of the pseudo-father shoes. Only to step back into them a bit later when he married Mackenzie and gave birth to their daughter, Christine. And even then, he sometimes acted like a father more than a brother.

Thor, on the other hand, he was the brother she never had! The two would joke and have food-fights, they would fight and settle their differences with petty pranks, and whenever Darcy was upset, Thor would take it upon himself to cheer her up. She remembered one time in an attempt to make her laugh gone awry, his entire hand got swallowed by a fish. She and Thor had never laughed harder in their lives… Even if the fish had to be surgically removed.

Long story short, Darcy missed Thor. Setting one picture down, she leaned over and picked up the one of Thor and Jane. They looked so happy and in love… Darcy scowled a bit and casually tossed the picture back onto the coffee table.

"Jerky God better not have just left without telling Jane goodbye… What is it with Asgard? Thor is great but can't compute basic relationship 101 and Loki's… Holy crap, Loki."

Darcy had just realized that though she had been completely healed—by Loki if memory served her correctly—she had not given one single passing thought to Loki in this entire time.

Though her time with Loki had been unpleasant to say the least, Thor was trusting him with someone he loved more than life itself. And even though Thor's actions as of late had been pretty douche-y, Darcy still owed it to Thor to make sure Loki was ok.

So, after inhaling the rest of her breakfast, Darcy put on some leggings and a purple tank top and threw her hair into a semblance of a ponytail and headed out.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Loki was expecting nothing out of the day. Oh sure, he was expecting the guard to come and give him his two meals a day, but beyond that he wasn't sure what he would do. Maybe he would read the rest of the books Darcy Lewis gave him, maybe he would conceive a plan of escape, or maybe he would just take a nap.

If he were to be honest with himself, something he rarely was, Loki was expecting a long, boring day ahead of him.

Of course, the Fates had never looked kindly on him, did they?

Darcy Lewis showed up around mid-morning looking (quite frankly) like the realm of Helheim. Not so much as when he last saw her, but still.

Unconsciously, he scanned her for any signs of her previous ailments. Aside from the three stitches on her forehead and the long green-blue plastic tube running from her nose to a tiny silver machine she carried, he saw none.

That oddly relieved him in a way.

"Hey," Darcy Lewis said quietly, sounding as relieved as he (for whatever reason) felt.

"What is that _thing_ you carry with you?"

Darcy glanced at the silver contraption in her hand and shrugged. "Oxygen machine. I have to wear it for the rest of the weekend."

Loki glared at the machine. "Why?"

"Whatever was in that one room in… well, you know… It was poisonous. Doctors want to make sure I get it flushed from my system."

Loki had figured the horrendous aroma of spices and chemicals was toxic, he just wasn't aware it was to such affect. "Why are you here, Miss Lewis?"

A bit put off by the coldness of his tone, Darcy hesitated a bit. "I just… wanted to make sure you were ok."

Loki smirked slightly. "Finally showing some concern for your savior, are you?"

Darcy glared at him. "I didn't _have_ to come down here, y'know."

"And yet, here you are."

Her eye turned to cold blue chips as she rolled them. "Forget it. I'll see ya Monday, Jazz Hands."

Loki, to his credit, was ready to let her walk out. To continue the comfortable, yet slightly irritating, routine of them either ignoring each other or saying whatever insulting thing popped into their head at the moment. However, he glanced back at his cot and noticed a singed orange ear poking out. Against his better judgments, he called out "Wait,"

Darcy stopped a few feet from his cell. "Why? Still feeling a little condescending?"

Ignoring the remark, for now, Loki merely walked over and grabbed the garment from under his pillow and walked back into her line of vision. "Here. This is yours, is it not?"

Darcy paused before slowly walking towards the cell again. "How… Where did you…?"

"I found it at Hix Industries. I assume it fell off your little head during the first explosion." Loki explained. Raising a skeptical brow as Darcy Lewis tried to form words. Up until a month and a half ago, he never really paid much attention to her. However, he knew quite well that she was never usually this quiet. This new, quieter Darcy was a bit unnerving.

From out of nowhere, it seems, Darcy produced a key card and swiped it along the lock, allowing herself entrance to Loki's cell. The God of Lies took a step back to give her more space.

"You… You saved it for me?"

She set her tank of oxygen down by her feet and stared between him and her ridiculous hat curiously.

The God narrowed his eyes, "Yes. I suppose I did. I would not look to much—"

As Darcy Lewis reached out to take back her hat, her soft fingers grazed Loki's long ones and the God, momentarily froze. "—into… it…"

He exhaled and drew his hands back quickly, as if burned. Darcy Lewis didn't seem to notice. She was too busy looking over her hat. Running her fingers over the singed ears, tracing the eyes and trim with her thumb, and re-reading the message her niece wrote to her nearly five years ago.

"I thought I lost this forever. Thank you, Loki." A bright grin made its way onto Darcy's face. She looked up and smiled at him and Loki was taken aback. Normally her eyes resembled ice chips or cold steel. Now? They reminded him of a perfect, blue, summer sky.

Glancing away, and suddenly very uncomfortable, Loki scoffed. "As I said before, don't look into it—"

"Loki," Darcy said, reaching out and grabbing his hand, "really, thank you. You can't even begin to imagine how much this means to me." Darcy gave his hand a gentle squeeze before letting go. She smiled up at him one last time. "Well, I'll see you on Monday."

Loki nodded absentmindedly, already turning his back to her as she left. He didn't notice how she paused outside his cell to glance at him over her shoulder, and she didn't notice how worried he became over his warm ears and rapidly-beating heart.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

When not in training, eating, or battling the villain of the week, the Avengers and company often would relax in a room that became known as _Avengers and Recreations_. You needed either a high level security pass to get in or the approval of an Avengers member themselves. One would think that anything that happens in this room would be exciting and adventurous.

However, the greatest achievement to ever happen in that room was Rhodey kicking Steve's but at _Connect_ _4_ , and even that was a bit of a stretch.

The room contained a kitchen and all its essential equipment, and included a fridge and pantry stocked to the brim with the Avenger's favorite snacks. In the far right corner there were some classic arcade games (something that Tony and Darcy both insisted on when building the place), a foosball and air hockey table towards the center, an incredibly cool and comfortable couch-chair-loveseat set up right in front of the 45-inch flat screen that was hooked up to just about the best entertainment system known to man. Blu-ray player with surround sound, Wii-U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, and just about every game you could ask for. On the far left wall was a bookshelf full of movies, books, comics, and magazines that (thanks to Tony's money and interns with nothing better to do) was always kept updated. Towards the back of the room there were some standard set weights, a table tennis game, and a high-tech stereo system and a collection of CD's.

All and all, it was every teenager (or superheroes) dream come true.

Today, while Wanda and Jane laid sprawled on the couch, casually smacking a balloon they had found back and forth, Vision had taken to reading _The Five People You Meet in Heaven_ (something that Darcy heavily recommended to him), Sam and Steve were trying to beat each other's high scores at air hockey, Rhodey was making himself a sandwich, and Natasha was fiddling with the stereo. All and all, it was a relaxing way to spend and afternoon.

"On your left." Steve smirked slightly as he sent the puck flying into Sam's goal.

"Aw, come on!" Sam groaned. Sending a glare to Steve, he held up his mallet "I swear to God, I'm going to throw this at you!"

"I think Steve's winning," Wanda commented.

"Reasonable guess." Jane shrugged. She grabbed the balloon mid-air and spiked it into Wanda's face. The two women laughed.

Vision glanced up from his book, looked at the score, and then returned to the pages with a smirk. "More than winning, Wanda."

Jane smiled. "Beating him?"

"Crushing him,"

"No need to rub it in, man!" Sam told the android. While distracted, Steve sent another puck into Sam's goal. "Really?"

The score was now 2-30.

Laughing, Wanda cheered "Go Sam!" while Jane applauded "Kick his ass, Steve!"

"Language!" Everyone chastised Jane.

Steve sent everyone in the room a glare. "I hate all of you…" This gave Same the perfect opportunity to score another point. Wanda and Jane laughed and returned back to their balloon.

The group settled in a companionable silence (well, the group minus Steve and Sam). After a few minutes of this, Darcy walked in and cleared her throat.

That sort of grinded everything to a halt (on the plus side, Sam scoured another point). "Hey guys,"

"Hey, how you doing, honey?" Natasha asked, wary of her friend's injuries.

"I'm fine. I just came to talk…"

"Alright, what'cha wanna talk about, Lewis?" Steve asks

"Um… Actually," she glanced at Wanda and Jane, "I came to talk to you guys."

The women's eyes widened and everyone else froze. Finally, after a long moment, Sam glanced out the door and gasped in faux excitement. "Look, _Mark_ _Harmon_!" and proceeded to run out the room. Not seeing a better way out of this, Steve and Rhodey followed suite.

Vision deadpanned, Natasha face-palmed, and the other three women just squinted their eyes in confusion.

"Ladies and android, the Earths _mightiest heroes_ …" Natasha turned off the stereo. "C'mon, Vizh, let's go slap some idiots."

On his way out, Vision mumbled a "Good luck," to Jane and Wanda and patted Darcy's shoulder. The three women were alone.

After a moment of silence, Darcy exhaled and set her oxygen tank down. "I'll just cut to the chase; I know why you guys lied to me… and I get _why_ you did it. It's sweet that you guys wanted to look out for me but… You could have told me from the beginning."

"We know," Jane frowned, "that was a really dick move of us—"

"Let me finish." Jane nodded for her to continue. "The thing is, I'm kind of ok with my break-up with Ian. We were starting to fizzle out, everyone could see that. I just… I've been with him for a while and so many things were changing so quickly, I just wanted something to hang onto." Wanda moved over to Darcy and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and jane reached over and grasped her hands. "But that wasn't right of me. I knew I wanted to break up with him, in some ways I knew I couldn't avoid it… I think I was looking for a real reason to break up with him. Stupid, I know, but there it is. If you guys would have just told me about Jessica, I would have done it sooner and everything would be ok."

"We didn't want to hurt you. After the whole _"Ultron"_ mess, we saw how happy he made you," Wanda explained.

"We just wanted you to be happy…"

"And I get that. Really I do but… Think about it, all those fights we were having, was I really happy?"

Wanda and Jane frowned and shook their heads. "No… you weren't."

"We are sorry, Darcy." Wanda said.

"I know." The brunette smiled. "Thanks for looking out for me, I couldn't ask for better friends." The three women hugged. "But, seriously, if you lie to me like that again I'll use Electabuzz on the both of you." The two women immediately backed away in fear, which brought a round of laughter from Darcy.

After she calmed down, Jane smiled back. "So… we cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool. Now, c'mon! I wanna watch Natasha beat the crap out of Steve, Sam, and Rhodey for being idiots."

"Why? We see that every day." Wanda jested. The other two women laughed in agreement.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

" _But at the moment that I hit the stage, thousands of voices are calling my name! And I know my heart it has been worth it all of the while… And as my albums fly of the shelves, handing autograph pics of myself, this life I chose isn't easy but sure is one heck of a ride…"_ Tom Scharpling's voice blared through Darcy's headphones. Before she started watching the show, she never knew how good of a voice the guy had. Now? He was one of her favorite singers.

Just as the song was getting good, Darcy felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Pausing the song, she dug her phone out of her pocket. Humming in surprise when she saw who was calling her so late at night. "Trisha? What's up?"

" _Nothing much. I didn't wake you, did I?"_

"Nah, just interrupted a good song. How's your dad?"

" _He woke up the other day actually. The doctors say it'll be a miracle if he'll ever walk again, though."_

Darcy cringed, not wanting to imagine a life without using your legs. "Will he be able to run Hix Industries?"

" _Oh, definitely! He's just hospitalized for another week. Until he gets out he appointed me temporarily in charge."_

"That's good!"

" _Yeah… Actually, I called to talk to you and Wanda about something. Is she there?"_

"Uh-huh. She's in her room, I'll go get her."

" _Thanks."_

Whatever it was Trisha wanted to talk about, she sounded nervous. Hurrying to Wanda's room, Darcy didn't bother knocking. "Wans?"

The witch jumped and blinked at her friend sleepily. "Yes…?"

"Crap, did I wake you up?"

"It's fine. What time is it?"

"Around midnight-ish, I think. Trisha's on the phone,"

"Oh," Wanda sat up and stretched, "what does she want?"

"She says she wants to talk to us about something." She brings her phone to her ear. "You still there, Trisha?"

" _Still here,"_

"Hang on," Darcy brought up the home screen and switched the call over to speaker phone, "You're on speaker, Trisha. What'cha need?"

" _It's about the Hix Industries attack."_

"Ok…"

" _I was looking through my daddy's files on S.H.I.E.L.D. because we finalize our deal with them on Monday and since I'll have to be the one to do it now. I figured I should go in with the right information. Well, I was looking through his files and I found something and to make a long story short… Rosie was right."_

"What?!" Wanda and Darcy shouted, thankful that Jane had gone to the lab earlier that day.

" _Hear me out, ok? Rosie was right, my daddy is planning on selling his new weapon to someone, but it doesn't mention anything about this Madame Sarkissian that Rosie thought it was. And what's worse—"_

"It gets worse?" Darcy asked

"— _I think my daddy knew about Rosie's attack beforehand. He just played dumb so he could be seen as the victim."_

"That bastard…" Wanda mumbled.

" _And the thing is, I'm looking at a couple of files on his computer now; one pertains to S.H.I.E.L.D. but not in the way you think. He's got all sorts of chart's and data on the number of S.H.I.E.L.D. members and the list of daily habits on the higher ups and then there's a connecting chart on human behavior. And then there's this one file titled_ _ **Project Infinity**_ _…"_

Wanda's blood ran cold.

"Ok, ok, slow down. What's _Project Infinity_?"

" _I don't know! It just keeps going into detail about something called the_ Tesseract _and_ The Scepter _…"_

"Loki's Scepter," Darcy mumbled. Wanda reached over and grabbed her friend's phone, "Hey!"

"Trisha, what else does it say?" Wanda asked

" _Uh… not much, actually. Just says it was installed a few weeks ago and then that stuff about the_ Tesseract _and_ The Scepter _but that's about it."_

"Wanda, give me my phone back." Darcy demanded.

"A few weeks ago, I saw your brother break into a secured lab and then when I investigated it, I saw a program called _Project Infinity_ starting." Wanda explained.

" _You did?"_

"You did?"

"Do you think your brother is helping your father?"

" _He_ might _be. The two of them never really saw eye-to-eye, though."_

"Why would your dad be keeping all that data on S.H.I.E.L.D. and that stuff about Loki's scepter?" Darcy asked

" _I don't know. But I think it's got to be something important, something big. Look, there's more stuff to this then I'm telling you, but I don't feel comfortable talking to you guys about it over the phone."_

"Well, like you said, you'll be in Monday. How about we meet up and you can tell us more?" Wanda suggested.

" _That's perfect! How about we meet in the cafeteria around 3 PM on Monday and we'll go from there?"_

"It's a date," Darcy smirked.

" _Great, I knew I could count on you two!"_ The line went dead and Darcy pocketed her phone. "She's a character. I'll give you that much."

Wanda shrugged. "If it wasn't for her, Loki and I might not be here right now."

"Really?"

"Yeah. When Ian and his buddies ambushed us, Trisha shot them and helped us out."

"Wait… what? Trisha shot them? With a gun?"

"Well, yes. Perfect aim,"

"That can't be right. She told me she didn't know how to work a gun."

Wanda blinked. "What?"

"Yeah! That's the whole reason why I was still in that room with Hix when you and Loki found me."

"Huh," Wanda said smartly. The two women spent a long time after that thinking about why Trisha would lie about her marksman abilities.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

Wanda was walking through the library. Rhodey had suggested a movie night to cheer everyone up and she had volunteered to pick up the movie and, after an hour of debate, they had decided on _The Road to El Dorado_. Only problem was, they didn't have it in _Avengers and Recreations_. So, Wanda decided to give the library a try.

Lo and behold, there was a copy… On the top shelf.

Wanda had begun to use levitation more, but she had yet to master it. And seeing as how there was no ladder in sight, she was stumped on how to retrieve it.

Before she could debate on using her levitations powers to retrieve it, however, a male voice spoke up. "Allow me," Wanda glanced around in time to see Vision's gold cape high above her head as he reached for the movie. The witch smiled as her friend returned to ground level.

"Thank you, Vision."

"It was my pleasure," The android smiled as he handed her the DVD, "I must admit, I have never heard of this film before."

"Neither have I, but Darcy and Sam say it is hilarious. I trust their judgment when it comes to books and films."

"They have not steered us wrong yet,"

"No, they have not." Wanda giggled. As the two walked toward the librarian's desk, the Witch glanced at the android. "What were you doing here, anyway, Vizh?"

"Well, Sam and Rhodey had made popcorn and… long story short they are now using it as weapons in what they describe as a "Popcorn War" … Darcy, Jane, Natasha, and Steve told me to fetch you before things escalated to burning couch level proportions."

Wanda snorted, "How'd Darcy take that?"

"She smacked Steve with a pillow and threw a bowl at him." Wanda laughed quite hard at this, imagining the look on Steve's face when Darcy Lewis threw a bowl at his face. She prayed to God and Asgard that Natasha or F.R.I.D.A.Y. had captured the moment on video.

"Actually, Wanda, since we are here I was wondering, would you…" Vision trailed off

"Would I what?"

"Would you care if I… accompany you back to the _Avengers and Recreations_ room?" He asked shyly.

Wanda smiled a bit. "Not at all Vision. Just let me check this out and we can go."

As the two walked to the front desk, Vision smiled brightly and Wanda couldn't help but let her mind wander to certain revelations. Such as Hix's interest in the _Tesseract_ and Loki's old _Scepter_ , which as luck would have it, the very core of that being was now implanted in her friend's forehead.

" _We have reason to believe someone is planning to collect all the Infinity Stones and use them for his own purposes."_ Sif's words echoed in her head.

Wanda glanced at Vision and smiled, hoping she didn't appear as nervous as she felt.

" _Remember what Sif was telling us about someone called a The Mad Titan looking for the Infinity Stones?"_

" _Yeah."_

" _And the Tesseract is an Infinity Stone."_

" _Ok…"_

" _And what you just said. What the alien said, something like 'Get us the Tesseract or else'. Right?"_

" _Um, yes…"_

" _And that whole 'He will make you crave pain' and shit."_

" _Is there a point to all this?"_

" _You don't think that this 'Mad Titan' guy is the same 'He' who basically threatened to kill Loki, do you?"_ The conversation she had with Darcy a few weeks ago came to her mind unbidden.

Out of the corner of her eye, the Mind Stone seemed to glow in the light of the room. It made her tense. _What will happen when whoever is collecting the Infinity Stones finds out about Vision?_ Wanda thought.

"Wanda?"

"Hmm?"

Vision gestured to the open space at the desk, a librarian waiting to check them out. "You're next."

"Oh, thank you." Wanda smiled sheepishly and stepped up to the desk. Deciding to ignore these thoughts for now, the Witch did her best to appear in good spirits.

Behind her, the android in question couldn't help but wonder why his friend seemed so tense all of a sudden.

 _ **.::. .::. .::.**_

 **Ok, not too proud of how this turned out but here it is.**

 _ ***EDIT* Came back and (hopefully) fixed most of the grammatical errors.**_

 _ ***EDIT 2* Was never too proud of that last scene so I came back and re-did it. Hope you enjoy!**_

 **On that note, tomorrow is my first day of college. On top of that, I usually work the evening shift at a retail store and until I get used to my schedule and how it affects me, I won't be updating as frequently as I used to. So, FOR NOW, this story is on a temporary hiatus. I'll try and update again by Halloween but I make that promise tentatively.**

 **So, as always, review and I'll see you when I see you.**


	20. ANNOUNCEMENT: Why I haven't updated

**Um… Hey Guys. Not a real chapter just a little explanation as to why I haven't this updated this story since… Um… Ah shit September.**

 **Ok guy's I am so sorry! I am still intending to finish this story it's just… Ok, first:**

 **A: College and Retail work do not mix well. I am a full-time student and part-time worker and my hours are "flexible" which usually means more work hours for me. Whatever time I have between school and work is spent on homework, scholarships, or sleeping.**

 **B: I have been having trouble finding scholarships that I am applicable for… that don't require a credit card number. Enough said.**

 **C: I am in the process of rewriting the ending of this story so it's just one story and not multiple sequels. You see, as I was working on the second sequel, I sort of realized that this story had taken such a dramatic turn that I hardly recognized it anymore. Due to schedule conflicts and such, I won't really be able to work on it until (hopefully) first weekend of May 2017.**

 **D: I am working on another story entitled** _ **Love Like You**_ **. Although it is under a name change consideration. If you are at all curious then you can PM me or message me on Tumblr. It is a big project and am very excited to show it.**

 **That being said; I also have a trip scheduled for the end of May and will be furthered inhibited in updating stories. So, I should be back to updating in June 2017…. Hopefully.**

 **Once again, this story is continuing, just not for another few months. When I update an actual chapter, I will delete this.**

 **That's… really it. I just wanted to let all… five of this story's fans to know where I have been.**

 **Ok, cool. See you guys in a couple months.**


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